Happy 17th Birthday, Max!

Since we couldn’t join you for your birthday we celebrated anyway at Jayni’s request. Of course we had to do it a day early so that you can see this first thing on your birthday! She even asked that I make this for you.

She said I had to make a basketball cake so this was my attempt. We celebrated with pizza for dinner and then had birthday cake.

Tom was a little grumpy so I didn’t want to get his grumpiness in any pictures. Jayni and Mason were more than happy to have their pictures taken though. The kids and I didn’t get out of the house today so please don’t mind their hair.

And for good measure we included some videos!

I’m so glad we have had the opportunity to get to know you! You are a huge part of our family now and we miss you like crazy! You are an amazing person and we’re so proud of all you do (well maybe not all!…like almost letting my son drown) and appreciate your efforts to keep in contact with us. We even kinda like you!

I hope you have a wonderful birthday and have some yummy curry for us! I really wish we could be there!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

Fall Soccer

The last two Saturdays of September and four Saturdays in October we spent watching Jayni play soccer for the first time on a team. Here she is on her first day getting a pep talk from their coach. We were really lucky to have a good coach that showed up every game. Most teams didn't have consistent coaches. I also think this is the only day that all 6 kids showed up on the same day.

I really can't say we watched her "play". She did a lot of this...

...and my personal favorite, a lot of that.

Mason would do this...

...and then that. Aren't these guys handsome?

But at the last game, Jayni was doing a little of this...

...and some of that.

Jayni's coach really tried to get her to score a goal the last game. She was scared when there would be a group around the ball. She had many opportunities that game to kick in a goal but was too scared. I'm not quite sure if soccer is her sport yet. She did do a lot of dancing and cheering though, sorry Tom!

Layer by Layer & Wind Turbines

I just have to share my excitement! I've lost a total of 22.8 lbs since deciding to be a healthier me (17.8 lbs since joining WW). Just over half of my goal.

I had my Weight Watchers meeting today and lost another 3.6 lbs. The most I've lost in a single week since joining! I was really excited and I'm having a hard time controlling it. I really feel amazing!! I had somewhat disappointing results the last couple weeks. Both losses but not really great ones. The first week Tom was out of town for business so I wasn't able to do too much and the second week was Halloween and that candy was just too tempting!!

I joined a gym a month ago and I really enjoy going. It's definitely helping to obtain my weight loss goal. It's also helped relieve stress and I feel so much healthier. I've been going in the evenings for 1-1.5 hours, 5-6 days a week. It's become my ME time. I think part of the reason I enjoy it so much is because all the cardio equipment have individual televisions so I'm able to enjoy my shows still and not worry about missing them. I'm a huge TV junkie!! But really it helps keep my mind off of the exercising part.

Thank you Tom for the email today! I really appreciate your words of encouragement and all the support you give to me.

As I was driving home from WW, I decided to drive up into the hills to get a closer look at the wind turbines above our house. Tom has taken the kids up there a couple times and Jayni loves it. I haven't been up there before and was a little curious so we made the drive.

Jayni didn't really want to get out of the car but Mason was all for some pictures so I was playing around with my camera and these are a few cute pictures.

The view from up there was amazing. This picture definitely doesn't do it justice.

Benton Franklin Fair & Rodeo

August 2008 Catch Up

On Saturday, August 16th the kick off to the Benton Franklin Fair & Rodeo began. They have the Grand Parade every year but did the 1st Annual 5k Rodeo Run which was before the parade. I decided I wanted to sign up but would only do it if my dear husband would. He agreed and we did it! It was the start of some changes in my life that I'll post more about later.

The last run I participated in was the Cherry Blossom Run in George, Washington on a 4th of July when I was 15 or 16. I took 1st in my division. Of course that was only because my cousin, Heather had placed 1st of all the participants and since she got a medal for that, I was fortunate enough to get the 1st place medal in my division.

I am a silent competitor. My only goal was to not finish last and I didn't! Tom pushed the kids in the stroller and let me go ahead. I wasn't that much quicker than him though and we ended up finishing at the same time. My most rewarding moment was when he took a shortcut down a street so he and the kids could cheer me on when I passed by. Jayni seemed so excited and it made me work harder.

Well the outcome wasn't as amazing as it had been 12 or so years ago but it was an accomplishment for me. In the 6+ years I've been married I've gained a little over 50 lbs. and I carried that junk to the finish line in 37 minutes 33 seconds. I thought that was pretty amazing to accomplish a little over 3 miles since I didn't practice beforehand! Here's Tom & I in all our glory afterwards waiting for the parade to start.

On Wednesday, August 20th I took the kids to the fair for Kid's Day even though it was raining and a little cold. I can handle that way more than a scorcher like the day we went to Grant County Fair. We were only there for a couple hours and the first thing we did was go to the library's booth and the kids both won books. By the booth was a stage that was about to perform a show with the help of children. Jayni was lucky enough to participate. She was so cute and I have a video of her whole two minute performance. Unfortunately it's too large to post! Boohoo!!

We finished out the day with watching some of the animals being judged (Jayni insisted), going through the animal barns, and having lunch. We then went home for naps!

On Saturday, August 23rd we returned to have family day. Jayni did the tractor pull again, saw our neighbor's pigs, and then got our wristbands for the rides. We're lucky enough that Tom's grandparents help with the fair because we were able to ride the rides free. Thank you Grandpa & Grandma Underwood!! We had a great time riding the rides.

I love this sequence of pictures. Whenever Mason's scared he covers his ears. It's so cute! I also love the look of terror on his face in the last one.

As you can see from these next pictures Mason was still a little scared but finally got a little more comfortable and the hands came down.

After the rides we took the kids home to have naps. We returned for the rodeo that night but didn't stay long because the close proximity with a can't-stay-still boy wasn't working. We walked around a bit more and then headed home. It was a fun day and created great memories!

Mason's Recovery

I thought I'd give a little update on Mason's recovery. The day after surgery Mason was playing, jumping, laughing and up to his normal self for the most part. He was in some pain but we'd give him his pain medication and I think it was probably working a little too well. We had to try to make him relax so he wasn't overdoing things.

Here's the bandage that was put over Mason's belly button after his surgery. It's called a Tegaderm. It's a bandage that after 48 hours we were able to bathe Mason and water wouldn't leak into it. It also was tamper proof but Mason was playing with it the day after surgery so we decided to keep a onesie on him just in case. The Tegaderm peels itself away and after two weeks we could remove it unless it came off on its own after one week. If you notice the corners were peeling away, especially the top right.

Since it was peeling away this last Saturday, which was a week and a day after surgery, I decided to pull it off. For curiosity sake and also being a little paranoid that water could get into it since it was peeling so much. I took it off right after his bath and I thought it looked really good. The incision seemed nice a clean and it was healing really well.

This photo is from last Saturday...

...and this one is from today. The surgeon said there is a little excess skin but during surgery she decided wasn't enough to cut away. She said that as he grows it will become a little more natural looking. Sorry if these are a little graphic but I wanted to document them.

Just a random photo. I went in at about midnight last Sunday to check on the kids before going to bed and this is how I found them. I thought it was cute that they had fallen asleep next to each other on the floor.

I love my kids and I'm thankful that they are healthy and I'm especially thankful today, that Mason is doing really well. I knew I was probably stressing for nothing leading up to his surgery and the few days after, but it was worth it to see the outcome so much better then I expected. Thanks again for the many prayers and words of comfort. I know that without them I wouldn't have been able to get through these last few weeks and I know they benefited Mason in his recovery.

The Dreaded Day...

...actually went really smoothly. We arrived at the hospital a little before 8 am and got Mason checked in and about 5 minutes later the nurse came to get the process started.

We knew Mason was already a little scared so we had a drug called Versed administered to him to relieve his anxiety. It definitely put him in a happy state! We then spoke to the surgeon and then the anesthesiologist.

When it was time for him to be wheeled away, he didn't even have a bit of hesitation. I on the other hand shed some tears but for the most part I was a little more relaxed that morning than I had been the weeks prior.

Now for the pictures after the surgery. This is Mason right after. I really think he thought he was smiling. We have a few pictures and every time Tom took a picture and told Mason to smile he'd make this face.

The surgery went really quickly. We went to the cafeteria and had breakfast and then went back to the Pediatrics Surgery Center and it seemed we were only there for about 10 minutes before they came to get Tom and I when the surgery was done.

Mason seemed pretty out of it at first but then when I was holding him he started fussing and wiggling and so the nurse gave him some morphine. I think that what he really wanted was to have his IV taken out because he kept grabbing at it. She tried to administer another dose of morphine but Tom stopped her because he thought that was the problem too. The shift changed shortly after that and the other nurse took out the IV and he finally fell asleep. We then were discharged and on the road back to home by noon. I thought that was pretty good considering they took him away for surgery about 9:30 am.

Things went so much better than I expected. The night before I had a hard time because Mason was in bed with us and I believe he knew something was going on because he kept clinging his arms around my neck and saying mommy. Once he fell asleep I said a prayer and felt calmer but of course I didn't hardly sleep a wink.

Thanks to Chris and Lisa for allowing us to stay at their house the night before. We really appreciate your friendship and love you guys! Also thanks to my mommy, my mother in law Sharalyn, and Aunt Christi (Tom's sister) for making the drive over so early in the morning and spending time with us. It definitely helped calm our nerves! We love you all very much. Oh, and thank you Mom, for taking Jayni home with you and bringing her back on Saturday. It helped a bunch!! Also, thank you to all of you who checked on us and for all the many prayers, emails and phone calls. We truly are blessed with amazing family and friends!! We love you all!

The Day is Almost Here

So Mason's surgery is on Friday and I'm SO nervous. Last week I completely shutdown and didn't do anything around the house. I slept a lot and was pretty down thinking too much about the surgery and aftermath. This week I've kept myself busy so I don't think about it so much and have tried to prepare myself as much as possible. I'm scared though and hope everything goes smoothly.

Please keep us (especially Mason) in your prayers. He's my sweet boy and I can't imagine my life without him. He's brought me so much joy and I love him so very much.

I'm assuming the above picture was taken by Jayni. I found Mason with camera in hand one day last month and put it away. When I downloaded pictures onto my computer a few weeks later, I found pictures of Mason and lots of shots around the room.

The British Are Coming, The British Are Coming

We have had a pretty busy summer and because of this (and my laziness), I've been really bad about keeping up on my blog and reading blogs. So, here I begin with a few posts of what we've been up to this summer.

In mid July we had the opportunity to have Max come all the way from England and stay with us. For those who don't know, Tom was coaching Max while we lived in England and became good friends with him. He came for a week last summer to go to the Big Bend basketball camp shortly after we arrived back.

Max came for about 2 weeks this time and without his parents. While he was here he and Tom were able to go to the Seattle Aquarium and see a Mariners game, attend the Gonzaga basketball camp, and join me at the Chlarson Family Reunion. Tom was in Florida for work while Max was at basketball camp so I picked Max up in Spokane and we headed to Moses Lake for the weekend and he was fortunate enough (or not) to meet my whole family.

Here's Max, Jayni & Mason the day he was returning back to England. I can't believe we didn't take more pictures during his visit. I'm so mad at myself!

While Max was here Jayni and Mason slept in our bedroom with us. The day after Max got here Jayni wanted to take her nap in her bed. I only had her sheets on the bed since she needed her bedspread in our room at night. This is what I saw after she came out from her nap. I was pretty excited to see that she put the top sheet back and positioned her pillow and animals.

Here's Jayni at Gonzaga University while waiting for Max to finish with camp.

We had a great time while Max was here. He was so great with the kids and very helpful. I've missed him being around like no other. It was nice having him to distract the kids during the day and I enjoyed being able to have him around to tease and be goofy with. I hope I didn't bore him to death on the days we just stuck around the house while Tom was working. If I did it was payback for him almost letting Mason drown in our neighbor's pond right before he left. I guess you can't rely on a 16 year old watching your kids while talking to the neighbor girls.

Thanks for coming Max and thank you to Jackie and Ross for allowing him to come! We miss you and look forward to you visiting us again next year!!

Day at the Park

This past Saturday we spent the day at the Riverfront Park in Spokane. My mom wanted to have one last get together before my sister, Leisha headed back home to New York with her family. So we met at the big red wagon, had some pictures taken and then ate a picnic lunch.

My sister, Shaila took pictures of the whole family and she also took individual family pictures and pictures of the grandkids. This is the one I took with my camera so I'm guessing that none of the kids really knew where to look.

After pictures and lunch we headed to the amusement rides and let the kids (young and old) ride the rides. It was fun to see the reactions of the little ones. Mason rode the dragon roller coaster four times! He would ride it and then get right back in line, yet every time he would look like he was beyond scared. Jayni kept asking to ride the ferris wheel and when we got there she was adamant about not riding with me and chose to ride with Uncle Milo.

All in all we had a good day and I wish I took more pictures but didn't. I've been really bad about this lately! Before heading home Tom and I drove to Tomato Street, which is one of my favorite restaurants. Mason was asleep before we even got there and so we just ordered to go and stopped at McDonald's since Jayni wanted that more than anything else. It was a long day but worth it!!

Hopefully I'll get a copy of the whole family and my little family soon so that I can post them (hint, hint).

Anyway, I'm grateful for the time I was able to spend with family. I appreciate every moment I'm able to spend with each one of them because they mean more to me than they realize. I feel at times we take things for granted and we need to try harder to strengthen our bonds because we never know what life it going to throw our way. Life is fragile!!

Weekend Festivities

For the 4th of July we headed to the Grand Coulee Dam for their laser light show and fireworks. We met up with my Mom and Pop, Grandma Bette, my brother Milo, and my sister Shaila and her family. Here's a picture of Jayni with GraMimi, Poppy and cousin Malcolm.

We had a great time spending time there with family and enjoying the yummy fair type food. The laser light show was the same one I saw when I was a teenager so it wasn't as exciting as I thought it would be. The fireworks were great and were fun to see over the dam. I thought Mason wouldn't enjoy the loud noise from the fireworks but he kept oohing and aahing and Jayni kept asking if we could go home while plugging her ears.

Saturday the 5th we enjoyed getting together with more family and friends and went to the Hardy boys birthday party at Shaila's inlaws. The kids had a great time playing in the water while the adults enjoyed a yummy barbecue. Hope you had a great birthday Malcolm and Quinn!

On Sunday we were back in Tri-Cities and were able to attend baby Ender's baby blessing. He's the newest addition on the Perkes' side. I wish I thought to take a picture of him in his cute blessing outfit but I didn't even think about it. He's very adorable and we're happy to have him as part of our family!

...it's official!!

haha...you all thought I was going to announce that I'm pregnant. Well, I'm not, and have no plans...my two keep me busy enough!

We had a consultation with a surgeon for Mason today and the inevitable became a reality today. Mason is scheduled to have surgery. For those who don't know, Mason was born with an umbilical hernia. It hasn't healed itself, which we knew at two months that it wouldn't.

 

The hole is a centimeter in diameter and his belly button pokes out a good inch.

 

Don't you love the pictures! Anyway, the surgery is scheduled for the 5th of September at Sacred Heart Children's Hospital in Spokane. I wanted to wait until the summer festivities died down so that we have ample time for recovery.

I have mixed emotions. I'm scared to death, but at the same time I want to fix things now so that he hopefully won't remember it and also so he doesn't get teased about it later in life. I just hope all will go well with the surgery and he recovers fully, and doesn't catch something like MRSA!! Of course I'm over paranoid and because of things life has thrown my way, my motto has become, "Assume the worst!" That way I'm prepared for the worst as much as I can be and feel blessed when the outcome is a positive.

I love you my baby boy! You are my miracle baby and I thank my Heavenly Father everyday for you.

Mason's 2nd Birthday and My 1st Quilt

Mason's birthday was April 26th, so this is a little late, but I wanted to show the cake I made for Mason's birthday. We celebrated Mason's birthday a week early since I had my sister-in-law's baby shower to go to on his actual birthday, which is her birthday as well. With the help of my Mom this is how the cake turned out.

We had a nice time with just a little party after Sunday dinner when we were in Moses Lake for a weekend.

I can't believe my baby is 2! It makes me so sad that my children are growing up so quickly.

For Christmas I got a sewing machine and this is the first quilt I've made. I felt so accomplished! This is what I made for my nephew Ender and gave to my sister-in-law, Beth at her baby shower.

Ender was born this last Sunday, May 18th which means all of our special days are now shared with others. Kind of funny!! Tom and I share the same birthday. Jayni and her cousin Eli share a birthday. Mason and Aunt Beth share a birthday. Now we share our anniversary with Ender's birthday.

Beth's husband, Ryan is a pilot so I thought this material was fitting for their family. Plus, I LOVE the colors!!!