If you're weak at heart or stomach, don't look at this picture. Macy's extra large covering fell off today, so we took a picture before covering the finger back up with a bandaid. Just look if you want to see the wound, otherwise, do NOT enlarge this picture. She's still being a trooper.
We were all home this evening finishing up dinner and getting on pajamas when Grady and Macy went out to the garage. She was riding her scooter and then was putting something in the trash can next to the door. Grady came inside and shut the door, and we heard the poor girl SCREAM. He ran back out and picked her up. I was doing the dishes and asked if she was bleeding. He said yes, so I turned the water to cold and moved out of the way. Before they even reached the kitchen sink, he said we needed to go to the hospital. I loaded up Stuart and Fiona and he held Macy. Yes, I DROVE! I managed the one ways and the traffic (with navigation from Grady when needed). What a proof of MOMMAHOOD!
After two and a half hours in the waiting , and a few stitches on each side of the pinky nail, we were headed home. She will probably lose the nail, but x-rays showed everything was okay, so it should heal fine. We have to watch how the new nail comes back, but that is a while away. It was 8:30 when we left, Stuart and Fiona were both ready for bed an hour earlier. Macy wanted some ice cream, so we stopped by the store to pick some up. Here she is showing you her wounded finger. She was a bit worried about sleeping with it, but went straight to bed after her treat.
When we went to tuck Stuart in, I had to take this picture. I guess this was her way of keeping it from getting bumped. 
We rolled her back over to keep the entire arm from falling asleep. She was the biggest trooper tonight. We missed our Temple Prep classes, and the kids were bummed that they could not go back to the Church, but we assured them this was more important and that we would be back next week.
Grady said no more skateboards, scooters, or bikes. Macy threw in no more doors either. It was a tough one for Daddy, as this was his first ER visit with a kid. I think that I was a little calmer due to the fact that I was with Stu when they admitted him for pneumonia, that was scarry for me. Oh, the life of a parent....catches you off guard.
This is a good picture, but you may have to enlarge it if possible. Yes, the plane is flying in it.
And the girls at the park. Fiona's first time in the swing...and she LOVED it!
Stuart has been pretending to "snowboard" around the house for weeks now, so he bought a skateboard to practice on. Here's Daddy showing him what it feels like to "GO".
Thanks for looking again!
I woke up at 5 this morning with Fiona, and just could not fall back to sleep. Doing what any "normal" person would do, I got out of bed and showered and ready for the day. I was awake and ALONE, so I decided to do some reviewing of my previous flights and study some of the ground work I've been reading. I left this morning for an 8 a.m. flight lesson, and was about 10 minutes early to the airport. It was beautiful! I watched four tail draggers take off right in a row, one immediately after the other. I imagine they were a group of guys taking advantage of the sunshine and heading somewhere for breakfast. (Someday!) Not long after, I watched a helicopter take off, only I'm sure this one was for a hospital and wouldn't be so lucky to take advantage of the morning.
During my lesson, we reviewed some of my previous learnings, including climbs, turns, and level flying. We taped off the instrument panel so that I was "forced" to learn to "feel" the variations and search for directional headings outside of the plane. This was so much fun. I wasn't constantly looking down to make sure that everything was perfect. I could tell when I was drifting off of the directional course, but wasn't as worried about it and it was easier to correct since I had nothing to compare my flight skills to.
Then came the part I have been fearing since my last lesson -- power off stalls. I was dreading this lesson to no end. I did build up some confidence this morning as I felt more prepared and comfortable to do preflight. Between the beauty of the morning, and my better preparing, I was ready to take on the lesson. I had to opportunity to wear a "hood" to limit my vision to the instrument panel only, or go at it wide open and bravely. Of course, I chose to got it all seeing. I watched as George demonstrated the first stall and recovery as I watched and learned. Then came my turn. I managed it well, but need to be bit faster on the controls. I had the option to try another on the return flight, but we were in such busy skies, watching for other aircraft in the area, that we forgot to do it. I guess that leaves something to look forward to next time. I managed to get pretty familiar with feeling the landing prep speed and controls. I feel pretty good about this flight....maybe it's the turning point for my unfamiliar mind.
Flight Time Today: 1.2 hours
Total Flight Time: 5.6 hours
Have a wonderful Saturday everyone!
Grady and I purchased tickets to the Nickelback concert this weekend on November 18, 2006. We had been planning on attending, but found out Thrusday night that we had no babysitter for the kids. In my genius head, I thought that I'd try to sell them on eBay. We had a guy that Grady works with that would buy them from us, but I thought that I'd try a 1 day listing to see if we could make a few bucks off of them. When I woke up yesterday morning, no one had even looked at them, so I was a bit worried.
But, by the auction's end, we had made almost 4 times the original amount that we paid! I had a rush going through me for most of yesterday afternoon and evening. I could not believe that someone would pay that much for a concert ticket. It definately helped put a smile where some bummed faces used to be. I'm off to fly this morning.....have a great weekend!
And a couple from a different setting.
Macy and Stuart (and Daddy) all had a blast playing around with the poses for these. Have a great Thursday. Anyone else watching the new Survivor? I've missed quite a bit already, but love CSI and The Shark. Tonight's my night infront of the TV.We are finally home! It seems like such a long time to get to and from our destinations. We came back through Worland so that I could pick up my maternity clothes. I needed them badly. It was nice to sleep in separate rooms and back in a bed with my husband and not one of the kick sleepers.
I forgot to take the camera with me most of the trip (must be the "don't-forget-a-kid" crazy mother rush in me), but did manage to remember it for the Aviary.....only to find out that the batteries were already half dead. Here are a few of the pictures that I did manage to get before it's death.
Stuart pointed out the cranes immediately. He knew exactly what they were no matter what "brand" of crane it was. Must be from my metal yard birds????
Here are the girls posing on the bridge over the goose and duck pond. Macy was a very big helper and loved to push Fiona everywhere in this stroller. I had a week off between her and Grady taking over the tiny tot.
As you can see, we did get wake up to some snow on Monday, so most birds were in under their warming light. We'll have to go back when the weather is nicer. I have a great picture of the flamingos on my phone. I just could not resist getting a photo of the beautiful pink birds walking around in water with snow all over in the background. Just seemed a bit "off" to me.
We took a few quick walks around Temple Square on Sunday evening and Monday morning. Stuart loved the Visitor's Center and probably could have stayed in there for an entire day pushing all of the buttons and listening to what they made the TV say.
It was a fun trip, but we are so glad to be home. We had a great time with Auntie Jill and Uncle Nathan, and will probably have to make this an annual event (since this was the second straight year). I just wish that there were a way for us to see everything in the beauty of spring and Grady still be able to get the day of snowboarding fun in.
I will post some pictures of the kids that we took on Jilly's iMac. They made me laugh so hard. Right now I am off to the laundy room to get this suitcase full emptied. Have a great Tuesday!
After the busy day that we've had today, we did have some relax time at the hotel...and my wonderful husband brought along everything that I needed to update you all on our trip. We went to the Gateway today and spent the entire day shopping and playing. I was able to purchase some more maternity clothes for this summer and made a trip to Victoria's Secret to finish up my Valentine's gifts.
Right before we headed to the Discovery Gateway (was the Children's Museum) we stopped for a glance at the water area. Macy and Stuart kept begging to run inside, so we let them. They had a blast! And, yes, it was nice enough weather for them to get wet, we just had to get inside or stay in the sun to let them dry off. Here's a picture of them enjoying some water and sunshine.
At the Discovery Center, the had an entire helicopter at this one (as opposed to having partial pieces of aircraft at the other one). Stuart was sure that he would miss it if we didn't visit it first, so that's where we headed....and we went back for another visit before we left. Here is a picture of him, complete with his pilot vest...he wore it both times we went. I was sure that we were going to take him out of it AFTER and only AFTER he fell asleep.
Macy and Mommy went shopping at the Market while Daddy and Stuart visited the farm. She got her chance at the register, and just kept on check out everyone that came through. We may have to play that one at home since she loved it so much.
And, another Macy photo. We all went into this gated area that had toys for Fiona to play with, and some comfy spots for Mom and Dad to sit. We enjoyed our "rest" if you can call it that.
Stuart once again showed how BIG he is. He climbed up the rock wall, and Macy wouldn't do it at all. I think that she was having fun harvesting veggies from the farm and taking them back to the playhouse for her friends to cook with. I just can't believe that our Stu is getting so brave with heights already.
Well, that was our day. We are enjoying our family vacation and are sure to have more adventures to share with you after a good night's rest. Until then, keep smiling.
In an attempt to have fun despite all of the SNOW we keep getting here, I thought that it would be fun to do some extra special things for Valentine's Day. Here are the goodies that my kids woke up to this morning. We exchanged Valentines in the cans, and candy, of course. Each of the older two got a Pre K workbook to have fun learning with, and Fiona got "Guess How Much I Love You". I bought it for my brother years ago, and loved it, so my babies had to have a copy.
I also made some homemade pancakes for breakfast. I put tons of red food coloring in them to make them pink, and did my best to shape them as hearts. Paired together with Strawberry milk, and grapes (in a pink bowl), we had a festive breakfast.
And, on to our MIRACLE! All of the kids slept the entire night last night! I think that is the first time ever! I had to check on Fiona to make sure she was still breathing when Grady left at 5 this morning. Here's her mid-morning bottle. She's enjoying it on the pillowcase we made the kids for this month. This is the most boyish one we could find around here. Amazing huh?
We've got a few more pictures that we can post later, but I have kids whining for me, and it is about to drive me crazy, so I better go help. Have a Happy Valentine's Day!
I forgot that I had these pictures to upload BEFORE we left for Worland earlier this week. We ended up going a day early so that we could hopefully avoid some predicted weather that really didn't show up until the trip home.
Macy has been putting tons of clips and ponies in her hair lately. She has so enjoyed it that I had to take a picture of her doing so. I also caught Fiona giving Baby Owen a love. She must be practicing up for the big sister part!
Here is the baby girl with some cool shades and a cowboy hat on. Stuart shared with her, so we caught it on film. I thought it was cute enough to share with you all too.
And....finally, the long overdue haircut. We bought a new set of clippers just for Stuart's head. He did a great job sitting for Dad to cut his hair, and looks so much older with it short.
Everything went well for my doctor visit, and we managed to get a visit in with my Grandpa and Grandma while there. Amazing to see them BOTH in such a short visit. It was nice to chat a while and for the kids to see them. I got to look through Grandpa's Log Book for all of his flights. He was tellling us stories of some, and I could find them entered in there. It was nice to talk with him about the pilot fun things.
We headed home Friday afternoon to avoid the two inch snow storm that was hitting Billings that night. We planned that perfect! As soon as I was able to get the walks scraped and the suburban in the garage, it let loose. We got a nice dumping and an even more beautiful day today to melt some of it away!
That's about it for now, I'll post more when something happens. Have a wonderful weekend!
Well, I haven't sat long enough to get another post up in a while. Tuesday I had my first visiting teacher come over ever. It was nice to have someone come over to visit with me and keep a positive outlook on things. In fact, I was so inspired that I called a family from the Ward and they came over to play on Wednesday morning. We had fun for a while that day, and then got a call Thursday that Playgroup was going to start up again.
We met with several families at the Church on Friday morning. It was wonderful to have a large open space to let the kids loose for a while. They had a blast and fell asleep coming home! It was a great two hour nap for us all. I went to my first crop night here. I took a mother from the Ward with me. It wasn't as fun as the ones that I am used to. We had to pay $10, and there were no supplies for us to use, and not much as far as ideas either. We did get a baggie with a few pieces of candy, and a ton of information about the chagnes that that company was making. It was more like a "buy from us" than a crop night. Sandy....you'd be rich if you did your crop nights here, I'm sure! I doubt that I'll go back for another one. It was nice for us mommies to get out alone though, we may have to do that more often.
Saturday morning I went out for my fourth flight. We reviewed banking and coming out of a turn early to avoid going past our mark. I was also introduced to stalls. Something that was very scary. I could understand the panic that would come with one of those. I was reassured that I will get used to it, and be able to handle it, if only I give it some more time. I'll elaborate more on it after my next lesson.
Today we went to storytime at the bookstore. It was fun, and had a way better turn out than the one before. I hope that we are all well enough to get into that habit. It would be nice to have an out on Monday mornings, and playgroup on Fridays. I better be getting these babies down for a nap. I hope that you are all having such a wonderful time as we have been, and that you have all been blessed by someone else's kindness, or should I say realize that you have been. Love to all!
....over the bench......
And, for the final photo....Fiona. She has been climbing up the standing point all day and last night. The only problem is that she has no idea how to get back down unless she falls or someone helps her. Eitherway, there's a little whine before the let down.
Have a great day, and stay warm! This storm passing over is sure to bring everyone a more expensive gas bill and many days inside. If you're going out, bundle up...the wind chill is forcasted to be dangerous.
The store had such a great sale going on that Grady wanted this Hall Tree. He basically got it for free because of all of the bargaining that we were able to do on the other pieces of furniture.
And for my favorite. Here are the new couch and loveseat that we bought. It was made by a man in Bridger, and I love it. I just hope that we can find a house with a living room and family room now. It really brightened things up in here.
That's about it. The snow started falling tonight, so we'll see what we've got in store. I can't believe it, but I guess that I was really getting spring fever until this hit. Hopefully it won't stick for long. Have a nice evening.I met with George for my third lesson last night. I always go to these lessons so nervous that I almost get myself talked out of them. Once at the office, I get to chatting about some questions, and then I feel fine and ready to go. We quickly went over the routine of preflight, and then I was out to manage it on the plane. Asking questions for reassurance, I managed to remember most of the preflight by myself. I think that my problem is that I want to know "why" I need to be learning everything. George has told me several times that he did not completely understand something until he went in for his Certified Flight Instructor certificate. I guess it is better to learn first rather than later.
Anyway, once in the plane for prepping for take off, I was a little more comfortable making the radio calls this time, but did manage to take on a few more than just talking with Ground. I got the opportunity to call Tower and Departure today! Wow. As we were taking off, we were redirected slightly due to another aircraft in the area. It's amazing how they can be so close, but so hard to see up there. I managed to see it behind us, but it was a little time later before George mentioned it.
After arriving at our designated practice area, we moved onto learning turns. We practiced banking between 20 and 45 degrees. At 45 degrees, the g's really show their force. My body felt so heavy, almost like going on a fast roller coaster. After practicing the angles, we moved on to easing into and out of the turn so that we were straight and level when our direction arrived. I was a little whimpy on the controls, needing to use more muscle than I was putting forth, often crossing the mark before I was able to straighten out. I did manage to get a few rather good ones in before we headed back for landing, but still have lots to study and memorize.
When coming in for landing, we were directed to a new runway...one that I had never used before. We had to cross straight over the field (airport) and circle back to land. I was a bit shocked when that call came over the radio, as I was unsure of what that meant, and I wasn't sure of what strip we were going for either. George made the calls back confirming these directions so that it didn't seem like we had any question regarding it. This was an amazing landing. We crossed the airport and were over the city. To see everything (including Laurel) lit up and only knowing the runway by the lights was a complete AAHH to me. We took longer to touchdown than before, so George once again stepped in and took over controls to get us stopped before the end of the runway...thank goodness, because it came up FAST! I loved having all of the lights on the plane and the runways, it was definately an awesome sight. We've scheduled another lesson for early Saturday morning to learn stalls. I may get my wings yet, it seems as though I've picked up more from this last flight than before. I think that I am getting back into the study habits, something I have not had to use in nearly ten years.
Today is the first day that I have been able to capture Fiona's crawling milestone on camera. It is not a very good picture, but she isn't exactly doing it all of the time. She started doing some short struts on all fours last week, but has really taken to trying it for a few "steps" the past couple of days. It is so cute to see her do this. She shakes a little in getting the rhythm down, but really likes us clapping for her. If Stuart were only this responsive to us clapping while he is on the potty, we'd be in business!
Grady is once again staying the night out of town for work. The kids and I treated ourselves to Hardee's for dinner, and then made some fresh salsa. We had bought the goods last week, and I needed to get it made up before I lost all of my tomatoes to age. Macy and Stuart have loved playing Joy School, so we turned it into cooking class tonight. Here they are stirring the salsa and saying, "Wish you were here to have some, Daddy-O!" It's yummy, but pretty hot, so I'm sure we'll have some to share with him tomorrow.
The only other happening that I have to share is receiving a card in the mail today from Deana. She found a ring made out of a 1964 quarter and sent it to me. It was made right there in Wasilla. I love it! It is so cool to look inside and see some of the actual quarter writings still there. It resembles the circle of friendship, and really made my day. What a thoughtful gift! Thanks, Deana, when you read this! Have a great evening.
FIONA RECEIVED A YELLOW SUNSHINE CARE BEAR FROM HER COUSINS FOR CHRISTMAS. STUART HAS FALLEN IN LOVE WITH IT AND HAS TAKEN IT TO BED WITH HIM FOR SEVERAL NIGHTS NOW. YESTERDAY I LET THEM TAKE THEIR GOOD KID MONEY FROM THE JAR AND GO TO WALMART SO HE COULD BUY HIS OWN. HE'S BEEN WISHING FOR HIS OWN GREEN ONE AT BEDTIME. MACY FOUND A LOLLIPOP ONE AND HAS NAMED IT SUGAR. FITS HER WELL, RIGHT? STUART'S IS HALF ASLEEP AND HAS A MOON ON IT. I SHOULD FIGURE OUT THEIR NAMES, BUT WILL JUST HAVE TO GO BY DESCRIPTION AND THE NAMES THEY WERE GIVEN WHEN THEY ARRRIVED HOME FOR NOW. HERE IS THE POSE THAT THEY WANTED POSTED TO SHARE. YES, THEY WERE ALL DRESSED AND HAIR BRUSHED BEFORE AFTERNOON NAPS ROLLED AROUND.
AND, FOR THE BIGGEST NEWS AROUND HERE TODAY. STUART RECEIVED THE START OF SOME GEOTRAX FOR HIS BIRTHDAY FROM GRANDMA, GRANDPA, AND UNCLE KADEN. HE REALLY WANTED A HELICOPTER TO GO WITH IT, AND DADDY SAID TO GO BUY ONE FROM HIM FOR A GIFT. WE COULDN'T FIND ANY AT THE STORE, SO WE BOUGHT THE CITY SCAPE. I TOLD STU THAT I WOULD ORDER THEM OFF OF THE INTERNET AND HE COULD USE HIS GOOD BOY MONEY TO PAY FOR THEM. WE ORDERED EVERY PIECE OF AVIATION THAT WOULD FIT THE AIRPORT, AND THEY ALL ARRIVED TODAY WHILE HE WAS NAPPING. WE PUT TOGETHER THE ENTIRE SYSTEM (THAT WE HAVE) AND TOOK THIS PICTURE TO SHARE.
AS YOU CAN SEE, WE DO NEED TO CONTINUE TO ADD TO THIS SO THAT THE CARS HAVE SOME PLACE TO GO, BUT WE HAVE FUELING AND A HANGAR FOR THE AIRPLANES AND A LANDING PAD FOR THE HELICOPTER....EVERYTHING WE NEED IN STU'S EYES! THESE COULD BE AS FUN AS THE LITTLE PEOPLE SOMEDAY.
NOT MUCH ELSE GOING ON. THE WEATHER IS BEAUTIFUL. WE WENT FOR A QUICK WALK TODAY, IT WAS A LITTLE WINDY. I WISH THAT THE WIND WOULD END HERE SO THAT WE COULD DO SOME MORE OUTDOORS THINGS, AND I COULD GET A FEW MORE FLIGHT LESSONS IN. WE DID START PLAYING JOY SCHOOL AGAIN THIS MORNING. I NEED TO TEACH STUART TO WRITE HIS LETTERS, AND THIS IS THE BEST WAY TO GET HIM TO GO ALONG WITH IT. HE'S BEEN REFUSING ANY FORWARD MOVEMENT LATELY. I HOPE THE STUBBORNESS ENDS SOON, I'M TOO THICK-HEADED TO FIGURE THIS ONE OUT. ANY COMMENTS WOULD BE APPRECIATED! HAVE A GREAT WEDNESDAY!
I met with George this morning for my second flight lesson. My personal goals set for this lesson were to improve my taxiway driving skills, and remember a more from this lesson than last. I was planning on a pretty quick timeframe, but it once again was 3 1/2 hours. I am so impressed with my instructor's patience and willingness to explain everything to me.
We started out going over the FAA Medical form that I need to have completed before my solo, which George is guestimating another month max. WOW, that seems soooo soon for me at this point. I was given minimum help for preflight, which was a great test for my memory. I managed it pretty well! We began the flight reviewing some of the studies I had from the first lesson: Left Turn Tendency and Adverse Yaw. I just managed to understand the Adverse Yaw last night.....late. While up in the air, I was to practice holding a 20 degree turn and setting my directional check point outside of the plane (not looking at the panel for entire directions). I practiced the trim, which made the flight MUCH easier and way less work for the pilot. We made a touch-and-go landing for practice and then circled back around for me to land. This has to be the best part. It's a bit weird seeing the ground coming at you so quickly and knowing that you can't just pull back up to avoid the landing, but I love the rush I get when I feel the plane touch down. I was a little slow on the flare (pulling up of the nose to keep it from touching down first, you always want to land on the two main wheels first), so I had a minor step-in from George. Flight time for today: 1.3 hours. Total Flight time: 2.2 hours.
Overall he was impressed with my improvements, and gave me a pretty "simple" homework. I have to memorize the panel. I was given a poster to use to study it from, so I was "teaching" Stuart some of the goodies. Here he is "flying". It has to be his favorite thing today, he's even teaching Macy some of the goodies. He remembers the mixture and throttle pulls, and to press the button to call the towers for approval. It is pretty cute to watch him. I'm sure he'll be a pilot too!
Here's another post mostly about Stuart. Grandma Rose made it in on Monday, and we had another birthday party for Stuart on Tuesday. I am happy that we were able to have some excitment around here that day. 
It is the same day that we had to replace Jumbo (the fish). We purchased a new one without him noticing (Macy did). Unfortunately, we lost both Jumbo II and Lulu that night. Must have been something in the water. I really did not have a desire to run out and buy a few more, so I just cleaned out the tank, and thought I would let it sit for a little while to see if he noticed. To date, he still has not. Macy has, and we told her what happened but she soon was sidetracked and has not said anything to Stu. I don't know how to tell him, so hopefully he will not realize.
We have been busy doing odds and ends. I was able to attend an Enrichment meeting about organizing everyday papers and getting rid of clutter. What a nice learing experience that was. I have alot to work on now.
Tonight we went to Red Lobster for dinner. It is grandma's favorite place to eat, so we treated her to an early birthday dinner. Her special day is next week, but she will be home by then. Yummy, yummy.
Other than that, not much else. Kids didn't sleep well last night, so I am ready to turn in tonight. I'm up for an early morning flight tomorrow, so I'll let you know how it turns out. I just pray it is warmer as the heater doesn't work that well. Good night
