Footloose and finally HELMET-FREE!

Megan had her final appointment with the craniologist yesterday. The before and after results are astounding. They have some side-by-side shots from her inital visit back in December and yesterday's visit that really show how much her head has reshaped. It's a PDF file, so it won't upload into Blogger for me. Too bad. They said to keep the helmet on for another two weeks, but I'm calling it GOOD after four and a half months (since we're moving next week)! I'm so happy for Megan to be liberated.

Photography Fun

You may or may not know that several months ago I purchased a nice camera, a Nikon. I've been loving it, especially since my brother Brian showed me a few tips when he was visiting us back in March.

I'm always impressed (and, admittedly, a little envious) when I look at my photographer friends' blogs and photos. They are so artistic and just down right cool. Well, I decided to look into Picasa and have been tinkering around in there, seeing what I can do with my photos, just for fun. I enjoyed it so much that first time that I couldn't sleep for thinking about all night. So I went back to older photos and played around with them too. Some of these are recent, some are older. Some are with my new camera, some aren't. There are many more than these here that I'll post now and again.

So for better or for worse, here's sort of my first attempt at photography.

It's Official!

We're going back to Arizona for good!

Yes, the two-year Leadership Development Program is coming to a close. The uprooting every 8 months is over. We will be moving back to Arizona in three weeks.

Today, Danny accepted a job offer with the people he worked for in Tucson during his first rotation in 2008. They LOVED him and would've done anything to get him to come back. We've had our sights on going back these entire two years and we are grateful that it's all worked out this way. A true answer to prayers. We are thrilled to soon be owning a home again, to finally put some roots down, and be so close to family. Hooray!

Sick, sick, sick!

There's not been too much going on around here. We're just trying to get healthy. Megan's bowel problems finally subsided. She's once again drinking well from a bottle, and eating all her fruits and veggies. Around that same time, we all got nailed with bad coughs and colds. No fun. Then, about a week after that the kids, one after another, came down with Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease. Just the sound of it makes me want to hurl! I think we've warded that off and I'm just hoping these little guys can just be in good health. And, oh yeah, Danny's been out of town during it all: 4 days last week, 4 days this week. GOOD TIMES!

Weekend with Grandma and Grandpa

As usual, they came bearing gifts. The kids knew it and pounced right away.


Megan loves Grandpa and Grandpa's mustache. Unfortunately, he was here on business and was tied up with work most of the trip. We sure missed him.




On Friday morning, the kids put Grandma to work making some cool little dinosaurs she brought.



Then we took a walk on a pretty little trail that leads to a park in our neighborhood.


A little Grandma time for Megan while her bunsies did a little air-drying. Megan's bunsies, that is. Not Grandma's. Grandma was a trooper, getting down and dirty when it came to washing Megan's buns off in the tub multiple times a day.

That evening after dinner, we were treated to Baskin Robin's. I thoroughly enjoyed my long-time, all-time fave: pralines and cream. YUM!


Our big outing for the weekend was going to the Dallas Arboretum on Saturday to visit the botanical gardens. It was lovely to see the exquisite beauties of spring. I really enjoyed snapping cool shots of all the flowers.

Danny somehow spotted this little garter snake hidden in some foliage right along the pathway. Good eyes for sure!

Thanks for SPOILING us all, Grandma and Grandpa! We miss you like crazy!

Our Birthday Boy

Dallin celebrated his 3rd birthday on Sunday. These are the portraits we got taken the other day. Isn't he a handsome boy?

Before General Conference on Saturday morning, Danny took the kids to Chuck E. Cheese's per Dallin's request months ago. Megan and I stayed behind due to her pooping issues and having no place to wash her bottom at Chuck E. Cheese's. They had a great time.

Dallin's birthday fell on both Easter and Conference this year (the Easter post is forthcoming). Lucky boy! First thing in the morning on Sunday Dallin saw a decorated family room. He loved that. We made his cake while Daddy made him a big birthday breakfast, which consisted of pancakes, grits, eggs, and grapes - all of Dallin's favorites.

After breakfast, it was on to opening presents. There were a LOT thanks to extended family and it took a good while to get through them all. He really made a good haul.

After Sunday morning's session of Conference, we had a delicous Easter dinner made by Danny. Then, of course, it was cake time. Dallin's request: a green cake with chocolate frosting and rainbow sprinkles. He opted for three candles instead of a "3" candle. He loved every bit of that cake!

We love you, Dallin Boy! Happy birthday!

Poor Baby!

This week I've been up to my armpits in POOP! Poor Megan has had some sort of bug that's going around and has been pooping like crazy. Mind you, this is just two weeks after recovering from bronchitis, complete with breathing treatments. If having diarrhea weren't bad enough, it's caused severe diaper rash. The yeasty kind that creates open sores, etc. So, we've been washing her little bunsies in the bath every time she has a messy diaper (like 6 or 7 times a day) and have used all sorts of ointments and creams and things: hydrocortisone, Lansinoh, Desitin, buttermilk, jock itch cream, Aquaphor, and Maalox. We finally got a prescription from the doctor yesterday to use four times a day, but she still recommends using Maalox and a mixture of Aquaphor and the jock itch stuff in between. She also gave us a probiotic to sprinkle in her food to get the good bacteria back in Megan's tummy and soy formula to use for a few days (she's FINALLY taking a bottle - twice a day!!). Whew! Is anyone else tired??

Of course, because Megan is the happiest baby ever, you wouldn't even know anything's wrong with her. In spite of every nap being interrupted by a bowel movement and sores all over her little bunsies, she's as pleasant as can be. We're crossing our fingers she gets over all this soon.