Caleb's Surgery

Caleb burned his had last week and now it's time for Surgery.

Here is Caleb the morning of Surgery. He was such a good boy. Ben and Uncle Jeff gave him a blessing the night before. I know that helped all of us to be calm. When we got there we went up to surgery and got Caleb ready. Isn't this hospital gown so cute?!

 Caleb put the hospital gown on with no problem. But the hat was a different story..

 Caleb wouldn't put on the hat the hospital wanted him to wear. They let him keep his fishing had on until he was put under and then they put it back on before he woke up.

 Caleb was getting kind of sad so I took some funny face pictures with him to make him laugh and feel better.

 Then the Dr. gave him some relaxing medicine and we turned the TV on. Here he is waiting to go.

 Post Opp picture. Caleb did surprisingly well coming out of it. He cried a little, but no kicking and thrashing like what we thought would happen. They gave him a popsicle and turned the TV on and he calmed right down. He wanted his clothes back on right when he woke up. Look at his huge arm! When we got home He said "there's a bat on my arm"

So far recovery has been great. He is a happy boy. The big arm cast doesn't seem to slow him down much. He is on medication, but he acts like a normal boy.

Here is a picture of Caleb before the accident. I know that soon this will be Caleb again. He is a strong boy. I know Heavenly Father is watching out for this little guy!

Here is a more detailed account:

On Monday we drove up North to stay with Jeff and Sarah. It was Eli's birthday and we had a fun time singing to Eli and eating cake. Ben and Jeff gave Caleb a blessing and we put the kids to bed. They Jeff and stayed up until past midnight talked and laughing. Probably not the best idea since we woke up at 5:20am. We left Jeff and Sarah's and went the University hospital. We got to the hospital at about 6:45am. We did the check in and got everything ready to go. It was about 8:30 before Caleb went into surgery. Before the Dr. told us that Caleb was going to need a full skin graft. They took some of his skin from his hip area. I haven't seem the scar yet, but they said it wouldn't be took big. The surgery took a little over an hour. After is was done the Dr. came and talked to us. We have to go back in on Friday to have the dressing changed and check on the progress. Then we go back again on Tuesday for a follow up. The Dr. said we could have a lot of follow up appointments. Caleb is also going to have to wear a compression glove for anywhere from 6 months to 2 years. But it didn't sound too bad. He said that he had to wear it 23 1/2 hours a day and he will just get used to it. Caleb will have have to go through some therapy.

When we got to see Caleb he was still asleep. Coming out of the drug induced sleep wasn't too bad. He cried a little, but we got him to calm down. He wanted to get dressed right away and leave. Before we could leave we had to talk to the Dr again and make a follow up appointment. Caleb also had to drink with out throwing up and go to the bathroom. We also had to get the pain under control. The only thing that he was complaining about was his leg (the donor site). They gave him some medicine and he was good to go. He drank a whole cup of apple juice and went to the bathroom pretty good. We were fully checked out by noon. It still felt like we had been there forever.

Caleb wanted to eat lunch at Costco. (That kids LOVES Costco). I wanted to get a few things, so I didn't mind. Caleb did pretty good while we were there. He sat on a pillow in the cart. He ate about 80% of a slice of pizza and we were on our way. He did really good on the drive home. He slept about half the way.

Last night he only woke up twice. We gave him some medicine and he went back to sleep. I think tonight will be even better. Today Kaelynn and Tyler came home and that made Caleb happy to see them. He also got to see Grandma and Grandpa. Grandpa surprised him with his own fishing pole. So now Caleb is ready to go fishing!

Caleb is such a special boy. While we were at the hospital he won the hearts of all the people there. I am so glad that everything went well and that he will make a fully recovery! 

Caleb Got Burned

On Tuesday we were over in Cedar City to meet with the architect about our house plans and to do some shopping. While we were there Caleb got burned on a treadmill. Tyler and Caleb were playing downstairs when the machine got turned on and Caleb's hand got stuck. I was shopping so Ben and Dad drove him to the ER. The ER didn't know to much about burns so they wrapped it up and told is to go to the University of Utah burn center in Salt Lake. We made the appointment for Thursday. We went up and they told us that Caleb will need a skin graph. He goes into surgery on Tuesday. They said the recovery will be about 3 weeks until he can just wear a compression glove that will help with the skin graph. After the surgery we have to go back every 3 days for them to change the dressings. We only have to do this twice then we are in charge of the care.

This was very scary for us. We felt so bad that Caleb had to go through this. When he first got hurt he wouldn't stop crying. When I finally got to the hospital Caleb had stopped crying so I had Ben and Dad give him a priesthood blessing. During the blessing I could feel the healing powers and I felt peace that everything would be fine. Caleb hasn't cried since his blessing and is his normal happy self. In fact after the blessing he woke up and looked at his hand and said "take this off". (Oh, I wish we could) He does have a big bandage on his arm that looks like a cast, but other then that he is looking good. He hasn't had any pain meds since Thursday, and he hasn't complained over pain. We have to be at the hospital on Tuesday morning at 7am. They said the actual surgery will only be an hour and we should be out by noon. I am grateful that Caleb is happy and otherwise a healthy little boy.

Last Day of School

Today is the last day of school (and it is cold and windy). I am always amazed at how much the kids learn during a school year. 

The main thing Tyler learned this year was reading. He is very good at it and loves it. Tyler has also learned so much more that he amazes me at the things he comes up with.

Kaelynn's reading has improved so much this year. She went from reading picture books to chapter books. Kaelynn's math skills have also improved. One of the funnest things Kaelynn has learned is the phases of the moon. The whole family has enjoyed looking at the moon.

Tyler's first and last day of Kindergarten

 Kaelynn's first and last day of 2nd grade

Tyler's Kindergarten Program/Graduation

Tyler's Kindergarten program. They did a cute job. Tyler even had a speaking part. At the end of the program they gave each of the kids a picture of them in a graduation cap and gown and a $1 gold coin.

It's hard to believe this is all the Kindergarten kids for about 30 miles.

Caleb's Hat and Summer Time!

Caleb LOVES this hat. He wears it all day long. It says "Grandpa's 'lil Fishing Buddy".  Summer is coming. I gave the boys their "summer buzz" a few days ago.

Today the school is having a "Camp Read A lot" day. It's a fun field day for the kids that read 25 books during March and April. School is out on Friday and I am trying to come up with some fun summer activities for them. I found an idea that might be helpful
Monday - Make something Monday. I thought of play dough, bubbles, beads. (Really any craft or project. I just have to plan it out so I can be prepared.)
Tuesday - Time to Read - Go to the Library. The library does a summer reading program we are going to go on Tuesday to check it out.
Wednesday - What's cooking Wednesday. I am mostly thinking treats, but I might teach Kaelynn some basic cooking skills too. She loves "cooking school". Popsicles, ice cream (we have an ice cream maker thanks to Jeff and Sarah) or smoothies.
Thursday - Be thought Thursday. Write letters, do service.
Friday - Somewhere fun Friday - OK this one is going to be different then the things we used to do up North. I am thinking we are going to do a lot of exploring. Since we live in the middle of nature it will be great for the kids. There are lakes, canals, waterfalls, hikes, and so much more.

I also do summer reading with my kids. When I was younger my mom used to pay us a penny a page for reading in the summer. Last year I paid 5 cents. Kaelynn earned almost $20. I might have to re-think my program. But she is reading chapter books, so it might still work out at 5 cents a page. Now that Tyler is a pretty good reader I might be broke by the end of the summer, but it's all for a good cause.

On a side note: Today Ben called the contractor to see how the bid was coming on our house. He said he would call us tomorrow because he was waiting on his suppliers.

Coleman 9 months

Coleman turned 9months on the 16th. 

For some reason I kept thinking he was turning 9 months on the 19th, but if you would've asked me his birthday I would've said Aug 16th. So who knows where my brain is these days.

I haven't taken him in for is Well Child Check yet. I have talked to a lot of people in town and they all say the Doctors are really good here. So I think I will stick with the clinic here in town.

Here are a few things about Coleman

~He can crawl, stand and walk along furniture

~He laughs and babbles

~Loves playing with toys. He really likes it when the dryer and the dish washer are open.

~He is starting to eat table foods and will eat almost anything you put in front of him

~He has his top and bottom front teeth.

~He likes to be outside and doesn't mind the grass

~We don't have stairs in our house, so he doesn't know how to go down

~Takes 2 really good naps in the day and goes to bed around 8:30

~ Night Sleeping is still bad. 

~Loves his binkie!

Bike Ride Around Town

Today's bike ride was fun. I went to get the mail and a can of beans at the grocery store.

Here is the hub cap wall

A pile of deer sheds

Elementary School

Last log from Kiabab Sawmill

The Panguitch life style

So far life if Panguitch has been an adjustment. I ride my bike down to the post office on most days to get the mail, Tyler has baseball, Kaelynn has gymnastics. I am looking at signing Caleb up for a preschool next fall. We also are going to buy a lot and build a house (WOW)

Here is Tyler getting ready to bat.

 Here is my bike and me. (not the best picture) We went on a family bike ride up Red Canyon.

 Ben is mocking my bike.

 This is how we drive Coleman around. (JK)

On my bike rides I try to find interesting things. One day I found a demolition car ("just one" you might ask, "yes, only one") I also found a fence covered in hub caps. I will try to take a picture of that next time.

 Here is Ben and Caleb in an ally. It's on main street between two buildings. Caleb was scared to go in so Ben had to go in with him.

Trip to Flagstaff

Last weekend we ventured on down to Flagstaff to see Ben's sister, Juli. It was her birthday and this past year she has gone through the fight against Breast Cancer. It was really good to see her and Kalianna. We went fishing and the Juli caught a fish for us for dinner. We also had a BBQ. It was very fun and relaxing. The drive is a killer. It's about 5 hours one way of nothing but desert and Indian Reservation. On the way home I got so bored I started taking picture out the window of clouds on my phone. I was just trying out different settings.

The kids with Juli's fish

 Caleb LOVED the doggie door. That is how he would get in and out of the house. Notice JJ (the dog). I don't know what he thought of all this.

 Here is one of my cloud pictures. I had about 20. Ben got a laugh out of me.

Coleman 8 months

Coleman turned 8 months on the 16th. The same day his cousin, Carson, was born. Coleman has mastered crawling around and sitting up. He can also pull himself up to standing.His front bottom teeth have come in and his front top teeth are just breaking through. Most days he takes two naps. He eats baby food about 2-3 times a day and loves crackers. Since we have moved his sleeping through the night has been a joke. He gets up at least once. He was a really good sleeper before so it's been frustrating. I would just let him cry it out, but he shares the room with Kaelynn. I need to get it figured out, because I am bone tired of it. Overall Coleman is a happy baby that loves to observe his surroundings.

 The older kids and I made block houses and pretended Coleman lived in one. They thought it was so funny.

Easter Egg's in the park

When we were in S.G. we coloring Easter eggs and hid them at the park. We had a fun picnic with fried chicken and potato salad.

Tyler's favorite egg

Kaelynn's favorite egg

Splash Pad in April

For Spring Break I took the kids to St. George. We went the splash pad on Wednesday. It was 80 degrees out. Such a perfect day. When we came back to Panguitch we had to wear sweaters.