The first week...

A week has passed since little Kyra came into our family and it has been a busy week. Having Christmas be a day after bringing the baby home was a little crazy. Santa Clause came and the kids were so excited to wake up and open presents. Kyra is a total night owl and slept for maybe 3 hours so I guess she was excited for Christmas morning too. We opened presents and tried to rest throughout the day. My mom prepared a wonderful dinner for us that we could heat up and eat that evening. They spent a few days out in Arco over Christmas and we had a few days to get used to becoming a family of five.

We are slowly adjusting to having a baby and not getting any sleep. Kyra was always up in the night while in my tummy and I don't know why I thought it would be different when she was born. A few nights she woke up just to hang out with mom...this is great except for the fact it was 230 in the morning and it went on until after 5:30. Dan, Jen, Brayden. and Ashlyn stopped by to see the baby and the kids loved being able to play with their cousins. Tristan asks us every day when Brayden can come over and play. Thanks guys for the dinner and the cute outfit.

This post is a little choppy because it is difficult to type with a baby on your lap...but a few funny things I've heard this past week pertaining to the baby or birth of the baby....most of which came from my husband...

"Devin almost missed the birth of his daughter because he was asleep in the car for two hours" Devin's response: "You sent me out to get you chap stick"

Regarding my "little" episiotomy" "Well it was just a little cut, nothing to it. You didn't have a circumsision." (another Devin quote) My response was just having my jaw drop and say really??

After Devin held Kyra and let her suck on his thumb: " Wow-she has quite a strong suction-she really had my thumb." (ya think?? try having that "suction" on your sensitive chest parts)

On Monday Kyra had a doctors appointment and Tristan was quite upset; when I asked him why he said: "Mom, don't let them put the baby back in your tummy"

Kyra's first bath @home

Tristans Iron Man Toy from Christmas

Cortlynns cheesy smiles

Kyra sucking her thumb...too cute

Tristan loves holding his sister and has the same grin on his face

Welcome Kyra Crystal McIntire

I was scheduled to be induced this morning at 8:00am in Idaho Falls, but Mother Nature had other plans for me. I woke up at 2am with contractions and decided to paint my nails and take a shower just to wait and see what happens. 2 hours later and 7 minutes apart, I decided to wake Devin up and tell him that we should travel to the hospital. We packed the car and headed to Idaho Falls. We arrived around 6:00 checked in and was ready for what the morning had in store; or were we. ;-) Each time I'm in labor I like to see how long I can go without any pain medication. I don't know why---perhaps I'm stubborn or think that maybe I can handle it. Whatever the reason I always seem to regret the length of time I go without medication. Around 8:00 I was still around a 4 and I asked Devin to get my chapstick from the car and maybe go get himself some breakfast. By 9:00 the contractions were so strong that if I could have ran away with my elephant feet I would have. Whoooo--ouch! So I requested an epidural. Well- 15 minutes later they were prepping me for the epidural (which I had a bunch of swelling in my back thanks to all the water I was retaining) and Devin was no where in site. Usually I hang on to Devin while I'm getting the "shot" thru the contractions-this time I had to squeeze my poor nurse. During the process I knew I had waited too long.....I felt like the baby was coming. They laid me down and the pain was EXTREME and the pressure was even worse. To top it off...Devin could not be located. By 9:50--the baby was coming without the epidural taking effect, without the doctor being there, and without Devin. I honestly don't know what was worse. When the doctor came in-my water exploded---and I just had to push. I push a couple of times and here walks my husband. Hmmmmmm-----glad you could make it honey. ;-) So I pushed aprox 10 more times--and since I'm not a screamer I took out my pain management on my pillow with my teeth-and delivered my beautiful little girl Kyra Crystal McIntire at 10:02am. She is 20.5 inches long, 8lbs 4 oz, and is such a sweetheart. Once she was in my arms-the epidural final was "working"--perfect timing right?! She is great and has been such a good baby. I'm so glad Devin made it: come to find out he went to the car to get my chapstick, sat to look at the baby name book and fell asleep. WHAT??? He is sooooooo lucky he made it. Anyway-the kids were able to come visit with grandma and grandpa Swanson and Nicole and they were so excited. Both of them are so happy to have a little sister. Below are a few photos and I'm sure I will post more when I have a little bit more time and I'm not so tired.

She hated her first bath

Heads up....Ima venting

This week sure has been one for the "books". I don't know if it's the pregnancy, my hormones completely out of wack, the Holiday season, or what---but my patience does not exist. I hate almost everyone (family not included) and I would be happy to sit in my bed with the lights out and ignore everything. It doesn't help that I feel like I'm HUGE! My legs and feet have retained so much water that I seriously thought I was going to have to cut my pants off the other night. I have 1 pair of shoes for work and if I don't get them on my ginormous feet by 8:30am-they won't go on. After that--well, fuzzy pink socks are the only thing that fits. The other night we were going to go to the store and I couldn't wear any shoes-even my crocs from my feet surgeries couldn't get past my toes- I sat in my closet and cried. Cortlynn came in and suggested that I wear some of dads shoes. ;-( I know I am being a big baby-but.....I really don't care. I pray that the swelling goes away once the baby is here---can your feet get so big that the skin pops?? Just wondering because they have popped the backs of my work shoes.
With the constant leg and feet pain mixed in with fatigue, a cold, (a husband who is now sick), I am in no mood for the butt heads that come into my place of employment. The things I've been called this week is ridiculous. I don't understand how someone can treat another person so bad when they don't even know them. One guy kept shaking his finger in my face; I came about 3 seconds from either biting it (but he was gross) or grabbing it and breaking it. I really thought about it. That is sad. Years ago I loved working with the public now, not so much. Sure wish Devin would win the lottery so I could stay at home with the kids and find a hobby to keep me busy. Is all of this added stress really worth it in the end?? I don't think it is-I come home and end up taking it out on the people I love the most--Devin and the kids. The days of coming home from work with a smile on my face are long gone. I think if I came home with a smile on my face my family would ask me what I was on....I don't know--I need to quit venting and try to get some sleep.
I'm having contractions on and off almost nightly now-and they are quite strong. I'm dilated to a two so I don't think I will be going to my due date which is Dec. 30. I feel like it will be next week sometime. We can't wait to meet our new addition to the family---we just need to come up with a name.



The ONLY pregnant photo of me and it was taken tonight. The other one Cortlynn took of my swollen legs and feet----too bad I don't have a photo of an elephant or hippo to compare the legs too.....they may not look that big but holy crap-they are....

Dr's and feet....

This has been one of those weeks that I don't care to relive and or comment on so I will keep this post brief. Tristan and I both had doctor appointments this week and he was HILARIOUS! While we were at mine he was sitting on the floor and the nurse was listening to the babies heartbeat; the heartbeat was really fast and she made a comment that I must have had a good breakfast. Tristan pops up and says, "Yep-she had a cheeseburger" No I didn't Tristan...."Yes you did mom, You had a cheeseburger." The look on the nurses face was priceless thinking that I had eaten a cheeseburger at 9:00 in the morning.
While at his appointment he wouldn't perform. He just looked at the doctor and acted like he didn't know how to do anything and couldn't answer any of the doctor's questions. Tristan even told him that he couldn't jump, stand on one foot, that he lived in Idaho Falls, didn't know the ABC's or count. My "special" child did tell the doctor that his mom says all candy is crap and that his dad drinks a lot of soda because it's good for you. Gotta love what kids say.
This week my feet and legs have been swelling SO BAD! They hurt, are gross looking, and I'm just so over it. I'm beginning to wonder if they keep getting bigger if they will actually break my shoes....I'm almost to the point I'm going to have to wear extra wide slippers since none of my shoes fit. I've posted a couple of pictures, you can't really get a true picture of them but you'll get an idea. We all know how much I love feet and to have them look like Flintstones feet makes it that much better.

Happy 4th Birthday Tristan Phoenix

My little boy turned 4 years old yesterday. I cannot believe how fast time flies by and how big he is getting. Tristan is such a special little man and I love him so much! He was so excited for his birthday because he knew daddy would be home. Devin actually came home late Friday night and was here in the morning. When Tristan saw him he was so happy and gave him the biggest hug. All day long Tristan was Devin's little shadow. Devin bought everyone a Boise State shirt and Tristan was so excited to wear his. At first he was concerned that it was a girls shirt because it was long on him but we assured him that it was ALL BOY.
We had planned a birthday party for him but unfortunately the weather didn't cooperate and no one was able to come. I felt bad for him but we made sure to make it a special day for him. We opened presents and took him to McDonald's than we came back home to eat cake and ice cream and than watch "The Last Airbender". I think he had a good day.

Tristan @McDonald's Tristan w/the Iron Man toys

Eating his cake and ice cream

such a cheesy grin

His Star Wars Cake

Slumber parties and Donuts with Dad

Devin has been gone for just over a week and we have 3 more days to go. It has been such a long and exhausting week! I had most of this week scheduled off prior to Devin's trip was scheduled and I'm so glad it worked out this way. Trying to juggle work and the kids schedule by myself last week was tough!

For my vacation I have a huge to-do list and so far I've completed none of them. I am SO tired! All I want to do is sleep--I think it is my bodies way of getting ready for the baby to arrive. Good for the baby but not good for my list. Tomorrow I WILL get something done!
Last Friday and Saturday night the kids and I had a slumber party. We all piled up in my bed with treats and watched a movie until we all fell asleep. Tristan is so cute he wants to have a slumber party every night now. I've created a monster! Not sure where Devin will sleep when he gets home.... ;-)
Yesterday I helped out at Cortlynn's school for about an hour. This is fun because I get to know the teacher and the other students. I almost wonder if helping stresses Cortlynn out a little bit. Yesterday I was timing different students on their multiplication tables and poor Cortlynn was so upset when she didn't finish hers: she was only 1 off and she completely broke down. I felt so bad for her. I tried to talk to her about it later in the day but of course she didn't have answers for me---just that she was tired and had a bad day.... Since she had such a bad day I decided to have today be a "Cortlynn Day".
To start off the day they had a Donuts with Dad morning at her school. Since Devin is out of town I decided to take her. I was shocked by how many dads actually showed up. We had to wait outside for about 5 minutes to even get into the school there were so many dads. It was fun-we had juice, a donut, and than we sat in the library and read a book for a few minutes. Cortlynn was glad I was able to go with her. After school I took her to get a haircut. She loves to get her haircut so I knew this would make her day. I hope this made up for yesterday.

Cortlynn eating her donut at the school today.....

Tristan's FIRST (professional) haircut

Since today was Veterans Day the bank was closed and so was Tristan's daycare so it became a mommy and son day. First thing on the agenda was getting Tristan an actual professional haircut. I was putting this off forever because he is such a drama king I knew it would be an exhausting appointment. I tried to make it a positive trip--and told him we would go to McDonalds for lunch when he was all done. That seemed to work until we pulled up to the salon. When he saw the front door he began to cry and tell me that only girls get their haircut there and he didn't want a girls haircut. (oh great, what am I doing?) We get inside and I explain that this is his first time and that it may be slightly traumatic. He was really good for the first 10 minutes. 10 minutes was his limit.....she pulled out the clippers (with a purple comb on it) and he freaks out. "I DON'T WANT a GIRLS HAIRCUT!!!!" We tried to console him and the tears that came out were HUGE! The poor little boy. I took the camera but I knew that would make it even worse. She continued to cut the back while she combed the rest to the front--ooohhh-this was not good. He really had a girls look and he wasn't too happy about it. A few more minutes past and I held his hand while she attempted to clean up the stray hairs and make it even. At this point he looked at all the hair on the floor and the cape he was wearing and began to cry again, "Mom, I don't want all my hair gone. I want my hair back." Too late for that. I'm glad that is over and next time he will be going with Devin.
Cortlynn came home from school and told him how much she liked it and than touched his hair and he preceded to tell her not to touch his hair because she was going to mess it up. I'm happy with the haircut but he looks like he aged about 2 years. He really looks like a little man, not my little boy. ;-(

Below are a couple of photos I took in the car right after the event. If you look close you can see that his eyes are red and he is still pretty mad at me.

hmmmmmm...

I swear I tell myself I'm not going to go a week without updating the blog-but here it is over two weeks since my last post. So much has gone on so I'm not going to bore you with me trying to update all of you with the last two weeks; I'll just vent. ;-)

Tristan and Cortlynn had a good Halloween and have been so busy. With school, dance, preschool, and Tristan being too big for naps--these kids are exhausted by the end of the day. This pregnancy is kicking my butt. It could be that I'm not young anymore or it could be that I don't take the time to take good care of myself; either way--good grief, I'm so tired, sore, itchy, big, waddling, you name it. Today I had a doctor appointment and everything is progressing normally. She hid from the nurse again and trying to hear the heartbeat was almost impossible. The baby is low and her head is in position for the big event. Not too sure if I will go until my due date or not. Based on her lack of patience-I would say she is eager to come into this world.

Devin was volunteered to travel to Twin Falls to help with the Fred Meyer Re-Grand Opening. Lucky us. He was told it would be from Nov. 10 thru the 19th (he would be back in time to celebrate Tristan's birthday). Well-wouldn't you know it--he gets part of his itinerary and it shows him checking in on the 9th and checking out on the 20th. So that was the plan; until we get home from the doctor and there is a message on the phone wondering where he is.... WHAT?! Yep-someone messed up (surprise) and he was supposed to be there this morning. He packed his bag and away he went. How frustrating. It only went down hill from there. We were told that the hotel was all paid for and not to worry about it. NOPE-he gave them his debit card for incidentals (using the phone or renting a movie) and the hotel has charged almost $400 to his account so far....NICE! Hopefully that gets corrected and they don't decide to charge his debit card for the entire 10 nights. Tristan is having a hard time understanding that he won't be home and cries. It's pretty sad--I guess I'm going to have a roommate while Devin is gone and maybe his feelings won't be hurt as much.

The week in review

This has been such a busy week. Between doctor appointments for me and the kids and dentist appointments for the kids; it didn't leave a lot of time to get the bedrooms rearranged before the baby gets here. The dentist visits went well and Tristan is getting better every time we go. He is such a sensitive little man that X-Rays were not an option. His gag reflex is too strong and they didn't want to traumatize him. He also couldn't watch the movie on the ceiling because the lights were too bright and the two pairs of sun glasses weren't cutting it. He did ok with the cleaning part but refused to lay down-nope, he had to sit up and have them cleaned. Too funny. Cortlynn had another No Cavity visit and was so proud of herself.

On Thursday I woke up early to help at the school and than I came home to bake cakes for the Harvest Hoedown. Four cakes later (I decorated them but didn't go all out like the last couple of years) I was done baking and moved on to cleaning out the toy room. Switching out rooms for the kids is so much work. I had an entire truck load of items I took to the DI which included an old mattress. WOW---I really shouldn't have carried all of that stuff-I sure paid for it later. The Harvest Hoedown was fun. The kids were able to dress up and play carnival games. Texas Roadhouse catered the evening and it was very tasty. Mmmmm mmmm good!

Earlier in the week I went to the doctor for a baby appointment and failed my blood sugar test. So-I had to wake up early and be in Idaho Falls by 8:00am Friday morning for a morning of blood tests. Talk about a boring morning! Since you really can't do anything or eat anything-all I did was sit there and watch awful morning shows which included Kathy Lee on the today show. This was such torture! It was almost as bad as listening to one of the women getting her blood tested---holy cow what a drama queen! I seriously thought she would have an ambulance come and pick her up because she was such so tired and in such pain where the IV was placed...She acted like she was on her death bed---such a whiner. After the tests were done I went to Subway in the mall to get something to eat. I was starving! While there a women that was at the ear doctor on Monday walked in. How weird is that to run into the same person 5 days later at a completely different location?! The funny thing is I should have tried to take her picture because I swear she is the model for the Polly Pocket toys. No joke! She had the hair cut and the painted on smile. It was hilarious to see... I was waiting for her snap on clothes to come off and her plastic dog to bark...

This is the kids all dressed up for the carnival. My little Iron Man and my little Pirate cheerleader. Too cute!

A Few Days Off

I am taking a few days off from work and decided to take a few minutes to update the blog. Actually I created a "To-Do" list and this was included. I'm putting off the rest of the list because I'm just tired and want to rest.
Devin has this week off as well BUT has it in his head that he should be able to go hunting all week....he is mistaken! I need things done and he needs to help me with them. He did wake up at the bum crack of dawn today to go hunting....Yippee! 5:00am was the time and he wasn't the only one up. Nope---let's turn on all the lights and open all the drawers at 5:00 in the morning!!! I wanted to scream. Tristan heard him and thought it was time to wake up and watch cartoons----nope-mom is the bad guy and made him get back to bed. He needs all the sleep he can get since he is too big to take naps now. What a little man he is becoming.
Yesterday I had a baby doctor appointment and this little bundle HATES the visits. She will not sit still long enough to have her heartbeat counted; in fact-she will kick the nurse away. What a little stinker and she's not even out in the real worl yet--I think I'm going to be in trouble.
We also took both kids to the ear doctor yesterday and they were too funny. The first thing Tristan said when the doctor came in was, "My ears are all fixed!" He was right-they are fixed-yeah! Cortlynn has no change in her ears/hearing--the doctor just wants to make sure that she sits at the front of the class and when I told him that she starts in the front-but the teacher will always forget and move her to the back. Well-this isn't acceptable so he will be writing a note to the school to make sure she doesn't get moved. Sometimes the school will do what they think is best and you have to put them back in their place.

More droppings, a rat, and a magic doctor...

This has been another one of those "weeks". We have not caught any of our mice and I'm quite disgusted by this. We know they are still around thanks to the droppings we find and have to clean up...I know that vacuuming mice crap isn't the safest thing for a pregnant women to do but neither is going completely nuts in thinking that she sleeps in a bed with them. Maybe I should invest in some cats.
Ironically, Cortlynn found out that she will be a rat in the 4 Nutcracker performances this December. Too funny! She is so excited to be a rat AND to be able to perform in all the performances including on "tour" in Blackfoot. Now the extra classes and running around begins; but it is worth it in the end.
Tristan has been too funny again this week. He has so many questions pertaining to the baby and I laugh at every one of them. A few of them include:
"Mom-does the baby pee and poop in your tummy?"
"When I was in your tummy did I fart?"
"Will the baby like to listen to Michael Jackson?"
"Can the baby listen to Michael Jackson now?" (I place headphones on my belly @night and the baby listens to Mozart)
"Did the baby get in your tummy by a magic doctor?"

These are just a few of the funnier ones....what a cutie.

I had a few meetings in Salt Lake this week so I had to stay in a hotel for 2 days. I really dislike travelling when I have so many other things to do at home and at work. This coming week is the same way---more traveling. I guess I need to get the traveling done before I'm not able to in a few weeks.
The baby has really seemed to grow the last little bit. I've actually had to break down and wear a maternity shirt at work because my other shirts are getting a little snug. My tummy has really popped out this week too....there is no denying that I'm expecting. Customers have made comments the last 2 days and were shocked to find out that I've hid it for so long. Tonight I had a regular customer come in and actually tell me that I'm too old to have a baby! Who says stuff like this??? I'm 34 for crying out loud! I can't believe the nerve of some people.

Rodents are Satan's pets

The other night I woke up at 5am thinking that something or someone was nibbling on my finger. At first I thought Tristan was in bed with me so I patted around trying to feel for him. Come to find out-I was alone. Well this freaked me out because the nibbling felt so real. I jumped (OK-jumped as much as a 26 week pregnant women can jump) out of bed and turned on all the lights in my bedroom and bathroom. I preceded to look everywhere for what was nibbling on my finger....nothing was there. Needless to say I was too "scared" and confused to sleep so I went back to bed-fingers rolled up in fists-and stayed awake until 6:00. I told Devin about it last night and he basically laughed in my face and thought I was going nuts: maybe I am. Before I went to bed I hunted for the cause. (You know when you imagine what a rodent nibbling on your finger would feel like? that's what it was like) So I'm on my hands and knees underneath my bed and guess what I came across......disgusting mouse poop. I knew it! I'm not a psycho freak who is losing her mind---I just have a mouse problem-and to think that I possibly had a mouse in my bed while I was sleeping NIBBLING on my finger.......makes me want to vomit! I am completely disgusted---I try to keep a clean house and I have rodents?
So gross, gross, gross, eeeekkkkkk! I think I will sleep in a hammock.

Just a few little funnies...

It is only Thursday and I feel like it should be Friday of NEXT week already. This has been and still is a very long week. I can't wait until Saturday at 4:10 when I will be done with work for day a and can catch up on my sleep.

Last Thursday Devin and I took the kids to Grandma and Grandpa McIntire's house while we went to the Foreigner concert at the fair. Of course it was another chilly day at the fair but we also had a down poor. We had purchased our tickets for the track "standing" so I was excited to see what the rain did to the track. WOW-this was nasty. We would walk in the nasty mud/horse poop and just sink. I thought I was going to lose my shoes a couple of times. I made Devin take a chair for me to sit on and I'm so glad I did. I don't think I would have enjoyed the concert if I would have had to stand the entire time in mud. The concert was good and I was happy that I knew all of the songs--sometimes when I go to a concert with Devin, I only know 1/2 of the songs. I find it funny how the founder of the group was there and he isn't young anymore....I joked and said he was 80-but really- he was quite a bit older, wearing ripped jeans, and being a "rock star". Do rock stars ever grow up?

Cortlynn has discovered the telephone and talks to a friend everyday. She has even tracked down a phone number of her "boyfriend" from the daycare she used to go to. A boyfriend? at age 9??? I'm seriously looking into sending her to an all girls private school on a closed campus located on a remote island.

Tristan has been such a silly little boy this week. He has found his singing voice (it's quite monotone)-but is quite the singer of ALL songs played on the radio. He has decided that he loves his baby sister and that he can't wait until Christmas. The other night he came over to me and asked me if I ate my baby sister and if that is how she got inside my tummy. Mmmmmm-hopefully he doesn't ask the other question of how his baby sister will come out of my tummy.

EISF 2010---Fun? Cheap? Day of Frstration?!

Yesterday we decided to take the kids on a "family date" to the Eastern Idaho State Fair. WOW-did we choose a chilly and WINDY day to attend the fair. The wind was out of control-some of the rides were closed because it wasn't safe. As soon as we got to the fair we headed straight to the Hansen Hoagie booth for a little ham, cheese hoagie completely filled with yummy, delicious, tasty, mouth watering onions. I would almost kill for one of these sandwiches and wish I could just have them delivered to my car rather than fight thru the crowds of weird people. I guess it was worth it. I was also able to feast on scone nuggets and hand cut french fries. There were a lot of choices in the food; I just didn't exercise those choices as much as I would have liked. Devin and I are going again- so watch out Tiger Ears and deep fried snicker bars----pregnant women on the prowl and will use that "status" to eat whatever I want.

We went over to the rides and took a walk around to see what was there and what Tristan could ride-there looked like quite a few-especially since he would be riding with Cortlynn. We decided to purchase 2 wrist bands since we figured it would be cheaper in the long run. We were SOOOOO wrong. Cortlynn got her money's worth. She went off on her own and road all the big kid rides. Tristan was a complete different story. He had a total of 3 rides he could ride on because of his height. He couldn't ride on anything else without an ADULT with him---having his sister didn't qualify. (I watched other kids his size get on rides with their brother or sister-but Tristan was always stopped and turned away in TEARS!) Even the stupid Merry Go Round was a rejected moment for my almost 4 year old. He couldn't ride on a horse. Hey- let's place a 4 month old on a horse but let's kick a 4 year old off. Classy! Needless to say- his little heart was broken and didn't understand why he wasn't a big boy. It made me so sad. It was made worse by the two rides that used to be on Neverland Ranch so there were pictures of Michael Jackson on them. Mom-I want to ride the Michael Jackson balloon ride: sorry Tristan-you're too small. But mom, why can that little boy ride it? Hmmmmm-I don't know. He couldn't even get on the helicopter ride that was enclosed! We were very upset----if they are going to sell little kids wrist bands-they need to have more than 3 rides that they are able to go on OR have a cheaper wrist band. It was such a rip off.

Another thing that irritated the crap out of me is the fact I believe every person in south-east Idaho has no clue what a line is for. I lost count on how many times the kids were waiting in line for a ride and some other kids cut right in front of them. I'm thinking that maybe these kids were excited or maybe just plain rude---but nope- it happened to me as well: multiple times! I was waiting outside an ATM for the women in front of me to finish getting her $ out. I don't like to breathe down peoples necks so I gave her some space and wasn't staring at her while she put in her card and pin number. I'm standing there, in the wind and noticeably pregnant when this big, fat, white trash man walks up (beer in hand), cuts in front of me and is waiting in the doorway for the women to get done. Literally breathing down her neck. I stood there in shock! The women actually turned around and told the guy I was waiting to use the machine and he turned and looked at me and said, "Oh- I didn't even see her." Yeah you didn't---take off your beer goggles and wake up jerk!

I have many more things to go on about the fair but I won't. The kids had fun (for the most part) so I guess that is what matters. Seriously for the money that was spent and the not so quality we got out of it-we should invest in a Disneyland vacation next year. At least at Disney it is family friendly and Tristan could ride on more than 3 rides. Oh well-I really am thinking about hiring someone to go inside the fair, fight thru the crowds, and purchase my favorite fair food than bring it to my vehicle waiting outside the gates. My stress level would be so much lower. ;-)

Ooops- I have another thing to vent about. I thought in the past if you purchased a beer you had to stay close to the beer garden area. I guess that is not the case this year. It was shocking to see parents waiting for their kids at the ride area with a beer in each hand and being vocal idiots. Devin and I lost count of how many intoxicated people were stumbling along the midway with a beer or TWO in hand. WHAT????!!!! Let's limit the smoking to a designated area-but hey-grab a beer in each hand and stroll all over the fair. Bunch of drunk rednecks.

Cortlynn and Tristan waiting in line for the truck ride- and yes the boy in front was one of them that cut in front of them. Prior to them getting on the ride- two more kids cut in front of them! no kidding. The middle photo is of the kids enjoying the truck ride. The final picture is Tristan having enough of being kicked off the rides for being too short and just taking a nap. Even in sleep he looked like he was pissed off.

Summer is over-

It is officially the end of summer with school starting Thursday/yesterday. I can't believe another summer has come and gone. Cortlynn is in 4th grade and was so excited to go back to school to see her friends and her teacher. She has wanted this teacher for years and was fortunate enough to get her. I took her to school the first day to make sure the teacher was aware Cortlynn was deaf in one ear and that she needs to sit near the front of the class. The teacher was excited by it because she has a hearing issue too and she is a very loud person; than she turned to Cortlynn and gave her a high five. A little awkward, but everyone seems happy.
I've attached a few photos of our summer and also the first day of school-enjoy.

Cortlynn's sign for our "baseball evening" nice appropriate sign for a 9 year old don't you think?? ;-) The ball player in the middle is the one we were there to admire. Cortlynn thought he was pretty cute and was shy to have her picture taken with him. Those are the 2 DJ's that hosted the event and made the posters.

Us at the game. the kids fishing w/Devin

Fun times in the spinkler

Cortlynn all cute at the Atomic Days parade

Cortlynn and Tristan-1st day of school

Tristan fishing at island park

The kids boating with their aunts

This is Tristan after playing in the nasty dirt at the Island Park cabin

All the grandkids with grandma and grandpa

A few random happenings

Keeping up with this blog is sure tough when you have a million other things going on in life. Work has been hectic and full of changes. Last week we had an audit and the results won't be known for a few weeks....a little nervous. It's amazing how we do the same thing day after day and as soon as the auditor walks in-our minds become noodles: my mind included.
This week I'm 23 weeks pregnant and I am exhausted! Maybe it's because I'm older; I don't know-I just can't find any energy. This little girl is constantly moving until you place your hands on my belly and she stops. I'm not too big yet but my back hurts--I'm so thankful for 2 children and a husband that will rub my back when I beg.
Tristan has become such a funny little man. He is constantly saying things that we laugh at and wonder where he gets it. The other night I was going thru the mail and I had a pile of junk mail sitting on the chair next to me. Tristan came up to me, looked at the pile and sees an envelope. This is what he said after seeing a Geico envelope.
Look mom, that is Geico. (I looked at him and asked him how he knew that) He continues to say- "Yeah mom-that is Geico and they will save you a lot of money in car insurance."
I just sat there and laughed. It's so funny what he remembers and what he repeats. He is so full of "it".
Cortlynn had a talk in primary Sunday so I helped her come up with a talk. She came home from church and I asked her how it went. She told me that it went really well and that the primary president liked it so much she made a copy of it and asked Cortlynn if she will read it at the next primary program in sacrament. I'm so happy for her---but dang---now I need to get up early and go to sacrament to support her with her talk. ;-)

Baby's first photo

I had my ultrasound last week and we believe our little bundle is a girl. She is a very modest and shy girl who wouldn't let us see anything to confirm 100% that she is indeed a girl. Tristan was all about showing off his business during the ultrsound, so I'm pretty confident a girl is in my tummy (I'll hang onto the receipts just in case). Below are two pictures from my appointment...needless to say they freaked Tristan out-but they are a little weird looking. The one is a profile picture and the other is the arm with the thumbs-up sign. We are just so excited.

19 weeks + 55(+)hours+no breaks=Stupidity

Last week at work we were short handed so I had the opportunity to work extra hours. Yeah! I guess being the boss has its perks----I so enjoy working 55 hours but actually being scheduled for 60 hours. Unfortunately I forgot to take care of myself and thought working without taking food and drink breaks was the best way to succeed and my body decided to show me who was in control early Saturday morning. I woke up around 6:30am in the worst pain. No matter what I did- it wouldn't go away. I tried to go back to sleep to ignore it-but that was not possible. I decided to get up and get ready for work. That was fun-the pain got so bad I couldn't walk and than got really sick. That should have been a sign to stay home-but that wasn't an option. I had to open the office. I spoke to Devin when I got to the store and couldn't walk, talk, or even concentrate. Since I was so useless we figured out how to get some coverage into the office for me to go to urgent care. Ahhhh-they did the normal tests and thought it would be fun to see just how bad my left side hurt---let's pound on her back and see if we can make her cry and wet her pants. Once this was complete I was left in the room by myself to cry in pain and listen to them call around for a consult and/or a second opinion. After a few minutes that seemed like hours- the doctor came in and told me I had some sort of infection and they were pretty sure it was settling in my kidneys. Yipee---now it was time to find an antibiotic that I'm not allergic to and ease my pain with Tylenol. I came home and tried to rest before I had to go back into the office and close. I thought I was doing better until I walked from my car to the pharmacy and I almost had to sit down in the middle of the aisle to cry. Now that would have been quite a sight to see. Now it is Monday and I can walk, talk, and carry a conversation, but still have pain. Another 8 days of medicine and that should cure it.....I hope. Now I just need to listen to my husband, co-workers, and mothers lectures on how I need to take care of myself. Sometimes I hate it when they are right.

Days 12 (continuation), 13, 14, and 15

Day 12 continued: When we arrived back in London we were supposed to meet our pre-paid transfer to our hotel. After waiting 20 minutes I called the company and they didn't know why the driver wasn't there. Another 10 minutes past and I received a call stating he was stuck in traffic and would be there asap. We finally find the driver and give him the papers stating the address of our hotel. He griped because it was clear out by the airport but whatever---you got paid for it. We arrive at the hotel- FINALLY- and he drops us off and leaves. I wait in line to check in for 15 minutes and when I get to the counter I was told that we were at the wrong Holiday Inn. WHAT?! So she gets us a driver and we go to the correct hotel--just a few blocks a way. This trip cost us an extra 10 pounds. Aaahhhhh! We get to our room and just wanted take our shoes off and relax. Well that was gross- I took my shoes off and found that my socks were full of blood and I had a toe nail that was actually black. I guess walking all that time the night before and that morning was too hard on my feet.

Day 13: We woke up early to go to the airport for our trip home. We arrived way too early and since we didn't pay the extra $120 we wouldn't get our seat assignments until right before the departure. Talk about stressful! In the London airport everyone sits in the same area until your gates are assigned which isn't until 20-25 minutes before your flight. Depending on where your gate is- it could possibly take you 20 minutes to get there. I think next time I'll pay the extra money just to relieve my stress from having to run to the gate and try to get seat assignments; and hope you're sitting by each other. Oh well- Live and Learn.
The plane ride was exhausting. Traveling during the day is a lot harder on a person than traveling when it is dark. Not very easy to sleep when people keep their window shades open. The flight was pretty smooth and we made it to Denver in good time. Thank goodness we arrived early since going thru customs, immigration, getting your luggage, rechecking your luggage, going thru the security screening process again, catching a train to the gate to catch your plane; took a lot longer than I had expected. I really think if we would have landed at the time we were supposed to, we may have been pushing it too close and missed our plane.
Denver had some nasty weather and caused all the planes to be re-routed. Too bad this decision wasn't made prior to boarding the plane because we were on the plane, on the run way, for close to an hour. This flight was a little bumpy and Devin and I didn't have seats by each other--so grabbing onto the army guy next to me wasn't an option. We arrived in Billings late so my poor dad didn't know what to think. Thanks to the airport not giving an update to the flight- no one knew where our flight was or when we would arrive. We retrieved our luggage and loaded into the car to travel to Colstrip to see our kids. When we arrived in Colstrip the kids, Nicole, and grandma were at the school watching a fireworks display; so we decided to surprise them. I was exhausted so I sat in the car and waited for the show to be over. A few minutes of waiting Tristan runs over to the car and jumps up in my lap. He looked so old- he had a new haircut and looked like he had aged 2 years. He gave me the biggest hug and told me, "Mom. I'm a big boy-I'm potty trained!" YEAH!!!! Thank you grandparents for potty training my very stubborn 3 year old.
It was so nice to see Tristan and Cortlynn and they were excited to hear about our trip-unfortunately all we wanted to do was sleep.
Day 14: Pretty much this day was a day of sleep. I'm not sure about Devin, but I woke up late, stayed awake long enough to eat a lovely lunch my mom made including dessert, and than went back to bed for another 3+ hours. I was done--my eyes would not stay open. Nothing like having your parents back from a long 12 days and all you see of them is a few hours to eat.
Day 15: Monday was the day we traveled back to Idaho. What a long 8 hours drive. The kids were excited to get back home to their friends, their own beds, and of course their toys. We had one minor set back when Tristan decided to throw up in the car outside of Bozeman. That is always a treat to have a child get sick while you're driving down the road. We arrived in Pocatello around 6:30. When we pulled up to the house our neighbor ran across the road to talk to Devin. (this was a bad sign) He told Devin how we had a sprinkler malfunction and they wouldn't shut off causing the yard on the side of the house to flood. It took 3 different neighbors and over 50,000 gallons of water before they were able to turn the water off. AAAHHHHH!!! Needless to say-I was upset and fed up with our crappy sprinkler systems. At least our house didn't flood this time--that would have put me into an institution with a padded room. Once we got settled we had to go visit Tastee Treet for ice cream. I can't get enough ice cream--What a nice way to end our trip--

Days 11 and 12

Day 11: Thursday June 24th was our 10 year Anniversary. Devin and I woke up and traveled to the train station to catch the Eurostar Train that would take us to Paris. This train station was CRAZY! There was really no way to know where to go- you would just wonder around and hope you arrive at the correct counter. The train was cool. We paid a little bit extra for an upgraded cabin. The seats were comfortable, you were served free drinks (and these were ANYTHING you wanted), and a lovely lunch and dessert, a hot washcloth to clean your face prior to arriving in France, and just a lovely trip. The trip took a little over 2 hours and we traveled under the channel. It's not like Disneyland-you're not encased in see-thru glass--it's just a dark tunnel and after a few blinks you're out. The French countryside was really pretty. The train traveled over 200 miles an hour-so taking any pictures was not an option. When we arrived in Paris we had to wait in line for a taxi. This line was so long! It began inside the building and went back so far. Once you get outside you get excited thinking that soon you will be on your way; nope-not the case. You exit the door and realize the line loops back and forth and your wait time is close to 45 minutes if not longer. It was just like waiting in line at Disney World for a ride in the hot sun. It didn't help that a lot of the taxi drivers would refuse to take a person to their destination and there would be a heated argument between the cab driver, the tourist, and the attendant trying to get the cabs thru. This happened a lot! We just hoped we wouldn't be one of those the drivers refused. We finally got in a taxi and was on our way to the hotel. The driving in Paris is out of control! Cars are going in every direction, the lanes are tiny, motorcycles are weaving in and out, pedestrians and bicycles are in the road, and there are "round- abouts" everywhere. The round- abouts aren't actually round: they are more oval, half circle, square, moon shaped-basically any shape they felt like placing in the middle of the road. SCARY! Taking the metro system (subway/Train) wasn't an option for us, since they were actually on strike the days we were there. I guess we were lucky the Eurostar Train was still running.
Our hotel in Paris was by far the smallest. It was a Best Western and had a grand total of 25 rooms. The staircase you had to walk up was so small you had to walk sideways and they placed 2 rooms at the end of the hall-again, you had to enter the room sideways. The room itself was so small that we had to place our luggage on top of the table. I tried to take a picture, but to even get half the room I would have had to hang out the window. We decided to walk-map in hand-to find-you've guessed it, the Hard Rock Cafe. AAAAahhhhh!! The map was no help-the streets were all in french and the street signs were very confusing--we walked for over 2 hours and I finally told Devin that it was ridiculous to walk around for so long to find a stupid restaurant and get a stupid T-Shirt. So I sat on a bus bench while he continued on for a few more minutes. While I was sitting there a guy named Mopet began to hit on me. Since I was American he assumed I was from New York and wanted to get to know me. Too bad he only knew 5 words in English. He even tried to get an Australian to interpret. Poor, Poor Mopet---hopefully someday he will find himself a nice-single women from New York. Devin had no luck and we decided to actually see the sights of Paris. Unfortunately where we had been walking-all of the sights were in the other direction, miles away. We found a nice cafe and decided that we had to get me something to eat before I went crazy on some poor French person. The food was good and our waiter was great. Devin ordered a coke and asked for the biggest one they had. Holy Crap! He was brought out a coke in a pitcher that was bigger than his head. Oh- and it was $15.00. We continued our way to the Eiffel Tower. This was pretty-for a big steel structure. What really irritated me were all of the street people selling lead based Eiffel Tower souvenirs. They would gang up on you and follow you trying to get your 2 Euros. I was even harassed by 4 of them while coming out of the restroom. It was so annoying that we left the area just as fast as we had arrived. We continued walking along the river for hours. The city is very pretty at night-all of the lights-the Eiffel Tower at night is breathtaking-the older buildings, beautiful-but quite dirty. Paris really isn't the City of Lights- it's the City of Let's Pee in the Streets. We were constantly walking over pee puddles. Come on people! We finally arrived at the Louve around 12:30 am. This was an awesome sight to see at night- the lights, the pyramid thing, just cool---until I looked over at the shrubs on the side of the Louve and realized what was going on. I will not be going in detail about what takes place in the shrubs at the Louve in the darkness of night- but I will say that a certain Idaho Senator who is innocent until proven guilty about a certain airport restroom incident, would LOVE the shrub activity. EEEEKKKKK!!!!
We continued to walk and realized we were MILES away from our hotel. It was now past 1:30am and there was no possible way I could walk all the way back to the hotel. I actually began to cry because I was so tired and exhausted. We made it back to the Eiffel Tower (which they turn the lights out after 1:00am) to wait in a taxi line for 20 minutes. I would have waited forever and paid whatever to get a ride back to the hotel. Around 2:30am we finally made it back to our room. Hallelujah!

Day 12: We woke up the next morning, left our luggage behind the front desk, and made our journey to some more Paris sights. It was so hot and my feet were on fire! I even considered asking one of the many men we spotted relieving themselves on the sidewalk or wall, to pee on my feet. Gross, I know-but holy cow they hurt!. We had to stop to eat so we chose the closest place to us---McDonalds. Hmmmmm--interesting place-it's not your American McDonalds across the street. We made it to Notre Dame (FINALLY) and took photos. While Devin waited in line to go thru it- I sat on a bench with an umbrella and tried to schedule our taxi pick up for the way back. I was reviewing the Paris map we had and realized the night before we had walked well over 20 miles. No wonder my feet were on fire and I wanted to cry. When Devin came out we had 1 hour before our taxi would pick us up and we had 4 miles to walk---not going to happen; so we hailed a cab. Best decision. While waiting at our hotel I picked up a brochure they had at the front desk and there it was, and advertisement for the Hard Rock. Oops---we were looking on the wrong street and the wrong side of town this entire time. What idiots! The cab ride back to the train station was so scary. It took us forever, and the longer it was taking-the pissier our driver was becoming. He would just lay on the horn at traffic but the traffic had no place to go. I really think he thought about running some people over. SCARY! We go under this tunnel-in a hurried fashion dodging cars and motorcycles and he begins to tell us-look, that is where Princess Diana died. You think? I'm surprised more people don't crash into the cement walls. The train ride was nice and the food was really good-it was nice to have 2 hours of comfortable space to rest our feet. I'm very happy we decided to spend a short amount of time in Paris. I didn't enjoy the city- it was dirty, gross, and I think one visit in my lifetime is enough. Don't get me wrong-there are a lot of people out there that love Paris and would go back again and again; I WILL NOT be one of them.

Since Days 11 and 12 are so long-I'll be finishing Day 12 in a day or two. I'll give you all time to breathe and take in my long-winded account of Paris.

Trip: Days 9 and 10

Day 9: We left Edinburgh for another long day on the coach. At least this time we weren't in the back of the bus. We toured Floors Castle the home of the Dutch and Duchess of Roxburgh. This was an interesting place. The family lives in the castle but opens it up for tourists to come thru all day long. I would hate it if people walked thru my house. We continued on to York and went on a walking tour of the city. This was a lovely city. We were able to visit the York Minster Abby and walk up and down the streets. I just can't get over how small the streets are in Europe. That evening we stayed in York. Another evening of lost luggage. This time I knew for a fact they had placed it in room 207 instead of 201 but when we brought it to the attention of the front desk- they looked at us like we were freaks. We had no assistance until I got our tour director involved. She couldn't believe it had happened again. What are the odds. We received our bag 2 hours later. That evening we had our last group dinner and it lasted forever!!! The time between the appetizer and the main course was over an hour. And if you requested water---well, we were lucky to see that by the time our dessert arrived. The hotel room was so small. I guess it really didn't matter since we spent 3 hours at dinner and the rest of the time tracking down our bag. This was the worst hotel of the trip.

Day 10: We drove to Anne Hathaways cottage (the wife of William Shakespeare not the actress) and had a chance to take photos. What a pretty cottage. We also visited the birthplace of Shakespeare and had a lovely visit in the town. Lunch was interesting. Everywhere you went had tables to sit at outside BUT you had to pay more to sit at them. WOW---everything cost money. The rest of the afternoon was spent driving along the English countryside on our way back to London. We arrived in London around 4:00 and it was time to say goodbye to our tour group. This hotel was great and on the side of London I really liked. It was an evening on own. We saw the Eye of London, Big Ben, Parliament, Buckingham Palace, and surprise surprise---we found the Hard Rock Cafe. This place was crazy busy! There are two buildings--one to eat in and one to shop in...we had to wait forever. After dinner we walked some more and toured the older section of London. I really enjoyed the Westminster part of London. The funny thing about this evening was the fact Devin and I were asked more than once where something was. I have no idea why--we definitely didn't look like we knew where we were. I'm not sure why people asked us for directions. Crazy!

Days 7 and 8---Scotland

Day 7: We woke early to pile on the bus and make our journey to Scotland. On the way to catch the Ferry we were able to see where the Titanic was built. Interesting--and this brought on conversations of how many people on the bus have not seen the movie. CRAZY! Since the seat rotation on the coach changed each day-it was our turn to sit in the back of the bus. These are the dreaded seats of all seats. There are 5 seats across and we are expected to fit 5 grown adults in them. Not hardly. I was squished between a 94 year old women sitting sideways and my husband who needs 3 times the leg room than a women. Needless to say this was the LONGEST-most difficult leg of our journey. I tried to sleep to make the sickness go away-but that is quite difficult when you have no place to put your head. Oh well- we survived.
We caught the Ferry that would take us from Ireland to Scotland, and this time it only took 2 hours. While on the ferry we decided to have lunch. I was craving a hamburger and fries so is what we ate. We picked up Heinz packets thinking it was ketchup and to our surprise it was vinegar. Still not sure why vinegar was out in the open like ketchup is here in the states. It amazes me how precise the system is they have in place. They had the entire Ferry full of vehicles empty within 15 minutes. Amazing! After the Ferry--we were on solid ground for another 5+ hours of driving in our lovely back seats. The scenery was beautiful and it was just what I had pictured Scotland to be. Green rolling fields, sheep, flowers, rock "fences", blue sky---just really pretty. WE finally arrived at our hotel in Edinburgh--perfect timing too----we had to get off that bus before Devin and I killed each other. The hotel was tiny--tiny is actually an understatement. If you were a larger person-I really think you would have been stuck between the bed(s) and the wall. There was maybe a foot of space between. It was fine- our room overlooked a really pretty park and we could see the old part of Edinburgh very clearly. In fact, we had a perfect view of the castle. We took an evening stroll around the area of our hotel and guess what we came across??? The Hard Rock Cafe. Go figure. Of course we went there (if you travel with Devin-the Hard rock is the only reason to visit a city and/or a country) and had potato skins and ice cream. Dinner of champions. That evening we called the kids to see how they were doing. I think Cortlynn and Tristan were handling the separation better than me.
I actually hung up the phone and cried. I sure did miss my kids.

Day 8: I woke up and was exhausted. I think the traveling from the day before caught up to me and I just looked like someone had beat me. We loaded onto the bus for the tour of the city and a stop at Edinburgh Castle. Since I was in such a "wonderful mood"--I lost it on the bus and told one of the most annoying individuals I've ever met to Chill-Out and be patient. This was in my not so nice tone and when I was finished I sat in my seat and was ticked off. Devin had missed the situation but could tell something was wrong by my face and was probably glad I didn't unleash my fury on him. We toured the castle and our tour guide Richard was great. Kilt and everything. The castle was lovely and we were able to see an actual Scottish wedding--bag pipes, Roles Royce, Kilts, small little ancient church--it was really cool. After the castle we had the entire day to ourselves to explore the city. Devin had it in his head that he was going to buy himself a kilt in his families colors. That was until we went to a wool mill and he was told that for them to make a kilt in his families tartan (which is not an every day tartan) it would be $1000.00! That wouldn't even include the added accessories. That dream was dashed and he decided to get the next best thing: the Family Crest. I heard this will be awesome but we won't receive it for about 8 weeks. He's excited so that is what matters. I loved the older part of Edinburgh. LOVED IT! Everywhere you go is up hill--but it was always worth it. The old buildings, pubs, cathedrals, passageways, just everything was interesting. That evening we did a Ghost tour of the underground taverns and the graveyard the McKenzie Poltergeist frequents. This was on Devin's list of top things he wanted to do. The underground was a little scarier because it was pitch black---the cemetery, not so much. It doesn't get dark there until 11:30pm, so the atmosphere wasn't creepy at all. The tour guide was good but everything he would say would start out like," What I'm about to tell you is true and really happened to me or to someone I am close too"...right! The one story he told us was "true" and happened to some girls he knew-sounded exactly like the movie "The Ruins". Yep-I'm sure that really happened to girls you knew. Of course when you're in a group there is always a person that is obnoxious and ruins it for the rest of us. This tour was no exception. In fact the tour guide came close to kicking the guy out. Why do people think they need to be the center of attention all of the time. Just shut up and enjoy it. Don't spend the money if you're going to be a butt; I didn't pay money to listen to you flap your jaw. Next to the "scary" cemetery was a little diner where the Rowlins chick wrote Harry Potter and the inspiration for the Hogwarts school was on the other side of the cemetery. I really could care less-but I bet a lot of Harry Potter fans would have gone absolutely crazy.

Continuation of Trip- Days 4-6

Day 4: We woke up early, loaded onto the motor coach, and drove around Cardiff do view the beautiful city. We were able to stop and visit Cardiff Castle and do a little shopping before making our way over St. Georges Channel via the slowest ferry ever. After 4 extremely long hours on the ferry we reached solid ground and departed for our next stop-Waterford. Our hotel was right along the river and we had a wonderful view. That evening we had a dinner as a group and enjoyed some of the local Ireland food.

Day 5: We woke up the next morning and took a walking tour of Waterford. Our guide was great and the information he had on Waterford and the early vikings was interesting. Come to find out he has been to 2 states in the United States: Montana and Idaho. How random is that?! Later that day we stopped in Kildare to visit the Irish National Stud. This place would have been my grandfathers dream. What beautiful horses and grounds. While there we were able to "meet" a horse that costs $70,000 for his stud services. WOW!! He just stood in the field as if he knew he was THE STUD. For lunch we didn't understand anything on the menu so I went for the safe bet and ordered a baked potato--I still have no clue what was in that potato. I think everything but the kitchen sink. That evening we stayed in Dublin in a hotel right along the river. It was great until the hotel lost Devin's suitcase for over 3 hours. They had placed it in an empty room and just thought it would miraculously find it's way to the correct owners. Devin and I decided to take a walk and locate the Hard Rock Cafe. We had an enjoyably expensive American meal and toured the city for a little bit longer.

Day 6: After taking an orientation drive of Dublin we stopped at Trinity College and toured the museum and was able to see the Book of Kells. This place was hot and everything smelled like really old musty books. After existing the museum we had to walk thru a gift shop (just like getting off a ride at Disneyland-always a gift shop) and we saw a girl who passed out. She actually looked dead---they dragged her outside and called for help but in the meantime was just trying to wake her up. Devin went over to help and I sat out of the way. After a LONG time-a medical person showed up and looked lost. Not sure what he was planning on doing. Note to others traveling to Ireland: Don't get sick b/c you may not recover and help takes forever! After the college tour we had the entire afternoon to tour the city. Devin and I went to the park and watched the Worlds Best street performers. This was pretty fun and there were even break dancers from New York performing. We walked throughout the streets and enjoyed the atmosphere Dublin had to offer. We went back to the hotel to get ready for our evening dinner and tour of the Guinness Storehouse. Devin was in heaven! We toured the brewery and it was very interesting. Devin was able to taste test a Guinness and taste test some more. Dinner was wonderful and the dessert was even better. Since we were part of a private tour- the building was open late just for us and we were able to do some shopping at the gift shop. We arrived back at the hotel around 10:00 and I needed ice cream. Since there wasn't anything in the hotel, we had to walk to the nearest McDonald's which was blocks away. The long walk was worth it--that was one of the best Sundays I've had.
Overall all Ireland was pretty but not what I expected. I expected rolling hills and rock fences with castles and open green farm land. Nope- this isn't was we experienced. We were probably on the wrong side of the island but Ireland is so commercial. Everywhere you turned there was a KFC, Subway, McDonald's, Burger King, and Starbucks. It was like you were walking down a street in the United States.

Devin and Christina's Vacation Days 1-3

It's been a few days since returning from our vacation and with a few more days of rest I think I will finally recover. Our vacation was wonderful and I've decided that the next few posts will be a brief description of our trip-day by day.

Day 1: Devin and I caught a plane in Billings-flew to Denver, and had to run thru the airport to make our red-eye connection to London. We were excited when we received our seat assignments-we had the two seats-aisle and window with no one on either side. YEAH-until we realized they were located by the restrooms. Yep--10 hours of bathroom lights on-off-on-off...I remembered everything BUT a sleeping mask. Dang! Earplugs? check Sleeping pillow? check Blanket and socks? check Mask? nope Oh well-who needs to sleep?!

Day 2: We arrived in London around noon and it took forever to get our luggage and go thru immigration/customs. We located our transfer and headed to the hotel. There was no time for rest so we went for a walk thru London. This was WITHOUT a map. IDIOTS!!!! Our hotel was located in a section of London that was 100% Muslim. Everything was in Arabic and everywhere we walked was a cloud of nasty smelling smoke (the kind the Cheshire cat smokes in Alice in Wonderland). We found the main road and made a walk for it. What I didn't know was it was the shopping district of London. I am not a shopper and cannot stand people so this was not the most pleasant experience. After a few hours we walked back to our hotel to meet up with our evening tour. That night we joined a group and went to a pub by the River Thames and had a wonderful dinner. After dinner we caught a boat and cruised along the river. We were able to see all the sights along the river---Big Ben, Parliament, London Bridge, London Eye, etc. and towards the end of the cruise the sun was going down and the lights were coming on. It was gorgeous.

Day 3: We woke up at the butt crack of dawn to eat an "English" breakfast and join our tour group. Breakfast was actually very good until an idiot decided to place two croissants into the toaster and start a fire. Who does this? We picked our seats on the motor coach and began our trip. We drove to Stonehenge took a lot of photos. It was so cold!!! The wind wouldn't quit. We drove thru the London country side and stopped for lunch in a cute town called Salisbury. After lunch we traveled on to Bath. I loved Bath; Bath the city, not Bath the roman pools. When we went thru the roman pools all I could think of was fat, dirty, sweaty, Roman dudes sitting in a gross hot pool full of fungus 100's of years ago. (the pools aren't filtered so they are NASTY!) We found a really good ice cream shop and enjoyed the atmosphere of the city. We continued on to Cardiff, Wales where we enjoyed a welcome dinner with our tour group and had time to get lost on a walk thru a neighborhood. No worries-we weren't lost for long. The hotel room was small and cozy and it was our first evening of double beds. I kinda like having a bed all to myself. A little selfish I know- but with my ear plugs on and not having to fight over the covers I actually had a few hours of uninterrupted sleep. Yeah----

Until the next post---I know; you're all on pins and needles waiting to see what happens.

Toodle Looo Idaho.....

Well we are finally packed and almost ready to leave for our vacation. We will be getting up early in the morning to drive to Colstrip, MT to spend a day with the parents, leave the children with the grandparents, and drive to Billings to catch our plane to London. I sure hope I remembered to pack everything.... eek I'll post pictures and write about our trip when we get hope in a few weeks.

One Mans Crap is Devin's Treasure.....

So my lovely husband Devin is a pack rat, low grade hoarder, a junk collector; I know this and I still love him-but honestly.... One mans junk is Devin's treasure. He comes home from Fred Meyer all the time with random junk they were going to throw away but he didn't want to see it go. This week is no exception. On Sunday I was going on and on about Devin's habits to my parents and I really think I jinxed myself. Monday I came home from work and the first thing I see in my "formal" living room are Avatar movie displays. WHAT??!!! Why Devin? Why?? He told me they are cool and we could display them in the house...Cortlynn thinks we should display them in our picture window for all to see. I don't think so! Oh Devin........

Ghostly "runs" and Polyp on my Fundus....

Last night I was talking to my mom on the phone when my lovely 3 year old decided that jumping on the couch and headbutting me would be a perfect idea. Ouch! I heard the crunch of my skull and saw stars in the sky. I was certain blood would begin to stream down my face. I had to tell my mom I would call her back and quickly hung up the phone to cry. Tristan wasn't even fazed-he has a skull made out of iron.
Last night I could not sleep. I went to bed at 12:30 and at 4:00 I was still wide awake. Devin was fast asleep and snoring of course while I tossed and turned. Around 3:30 our toilet downstairs sounded like it was flushing. It kept doing this every 1/2 hour for about 2 hours. How odd is that? I must have a ghost that loves to walk around and also has a case of the ghostly "runs" and uses the restroom in the middle of the night. Crazy! I'm going to need to increase my ambien so I can sleep thru the weirdness. I finally did get to sleep around 6:00/6:30 and woke up to take Cortlynn to church at 9:00. I'm so tired!
My appointment Friday went alright. The doctor removed tissue for biopsies and had a good look at my tummy. He found a polyp in my fundus (I love saying that-it sounds gross and dirty at the same time) ;-0 For those of you that are not in the medical field-that would be a pocket of skin that shouldn't be there located at the top of my stomach. That too was removed and sent for testing. He discovered that my stomach isn't working the way it should. All of those times in high school and beyond when I wasn't the most "lady like" women and could keep up with all the boys in various areas of crudeness-it wasn't my fault. I was born that way-so technically I could blame my parents. tee hee hee
I go in on Tuesday morning for some more testing to see why my tummy isn't normal. Should be an exciting day! I scheduled the appointment at the Pocatello hospital.....WHAT??? They told me not to make any decisions after my procedure Friday and they ask me to schedule a procedure??? I really dislike the hospital here and on a normal day wouldn't schedule to go there, what was I thinking? I'm not going to the ER so maybe everything will go alright. We'll wait and see.