Here is Courtney just as she is hitting the water after jumping from the diving board:
Friday, June 29, 2012
Pool Time!
We have been going to the swimming pool at least 3 times each week this summer (I have to justify buying a pass). We go to the St. George City pool one day and then we go to the Sand Hollow Aquatic Center the other two days. One of the days we go to the SHAC is on Friday with Bryan. The kids love the City Pool because it has a hydrotube and is a saline pool so you don't itch from chlorine. I like the SHAC because we don't have to put on sunscreen and it isn't as crowded. But they both are fun!
Here is Courtney just as she is hitting the water after jumping from the diving board:
Courtney gets ear aches if she gets water in her ears. In order to make sure she can have fun and not worry about her ears, we put putty in her ears then put a swim cap on her head. She LOVES it. Here is our cute swimmer girl!
She likes to jump off and turn so it looks like she is running above the water:
I can never get photos of Ethan because he is running too fast. We have been going to the pool with Brennon and his mom so he has had a friend to play with. We take our tubes and they float along and have wars. It's been really fun and is a great way to stay cool. This summer actually hasn't been too bad and I think it's due to the fact that we are at the pool so much.
Here is Courtney just as she is hitting the water after jumping from the diving board:
Backpacking
The boys took off this morning for their annual backpacking trip. Courtney was a little bummed that she was being left behind but we will have a "girls day" while the boys are gone. I'm not sure what that means but she seems to think it will be fun.
Bryan is taking Ethan to Bryce Canyon to go backpacking. There is a trail he wants to go on. It loops but they won't do the entire loop because Bryan doesn't want to ruin Ethan for further backpacking trips. They are hoping that there will be a camp spot for them. If there isn't, they will just camp at a campground in Bryce Canyon and do a smaller hike. I hope when they get to the ranger station that there will be a spot on the trail for them. Ethan is excited to make hoodoos when he is resting. Our family loves Bryce Canyon!
Pictures will be coming when they get back Saturday afternoon. Ethan took my camera so we'll see some of their fun!
Bryan is taking Ethan to Bryce Canyon to go backpacking. There is a trail he wants to go on. It loops but they won't do the entire loop because Bryan doesn't want to ruin Ethan for further backpacking trips. They are hoping that there will be a camp spot for them. If there isn't, they will just camp at a campground in Bryce Canyon and do a smaller hike. I hope when they get to the ranger station that there will be a spot on the trail for them. Ethan is excited to make hoodoos when he is resting. Our family loves Bryce Canyon!
Pictures will be coming when they get back Saturday afternoon. Ethan took my camera so we'll see some of their fun!
Polar Bear Courtney
The youth are all gone on Trek this week so moms are taking advantage and cleaning out rooms while they are gone. Courtney always benefits when this happens! A mom brought over a huge garbage bag full of clothes, games, toys and crafts for her. She was so excited! She loved everything but her favorites were a bright pink bathrobe and a polar bear hat. It was 104 degrees outside and she wouldn't take them off. It was hilarious. She now sleeps with the polar bear hat on her head. It's great.
Pack Meeting
They did a few wheelbarrow races. Ethan and Brennon weren't very good at this one.
They played "Good Doggie" where one scout went up to another and barked trying to get the other scout to smile before he could say "good doggie, good doggie, good doggie." Ethan didn't last a second!
Book Club
We have been holding a summer book club for Courtney and 3 of her friends in the neighborhood. It's been a lot of fun and this week we read the book "If You Give a Cat a Cupcake." We always read the book together, talk about it, make the food (cookies, cupcake, muffins, donuts, etc.) then make a craft while the food is cooking. When the food is finished, we decorate it, eat one and then make plates for our families so they can take home some of what they made.
I always have the girls read one sentence each of the book and, while we are cooking, I have them read the directions themselves. It really has been a lot of fun to teach them how to read basic cooking directions and how to make things. They get so excited.
This week we made cupcakes and while they were cooking, the girls (and Ethan because he didn't have a camp this week so he got to participate) made a sand castle. These were super easy. I made some sand clay for them to mold and they each brought sea shells to decorate it with. I had umbrellas from one of Courtney's birthday parties so it was fun to have them use those.
The way you make sand clay is to mix 2 cups water with 2 cups corn starch in a pan on the stove. Cook it, stirring constantly, until it thickens. Then you pour it into a bowl that has 4 cups of sand in it. You mix with a spoon (I used my hands but it was HOT) until it is all mixed in and resembles play dough. It worked out great and the girls loved it. I got the sand at HomeDepot on their "damaged" pallet. There was a hole in the bag so they only charged me $1 for a $6 bag of sand. Score! But I only used a fraction of the bag of sand so I need to put it somewhere.
Courtney's sand castle is on the left and Ethan's is on the right:
Courtney's creation:
I always have the girls read one sentence each of the book and, while we are cooking, I have them read the directions themselves. It really has been a lot of fun to teach them how to read basic cooking directions and how to make things. They get so excited.
This week we made cupcakes and while they were cooking, the girls (and Ethan because he didn't have a camp this week so he got to participate) made a sand castle. These were super easy. I made some sand clay for them to mold and they each brought sea shells to decorate it with. I had umbrellas from one of Courtney's birthday parties so it was fun to have them use those.
The way you make sand clay is to mix 2 cups water with 2 cups corn starch in a pan on the stove. Cook it, stirring constantly, until it thickens. Then you pour it into a bowl that has 4 cups of sand in it. You mix with a spoon (I used my hands but it was HOT) until it is all mixed in and resembles play dough. It worked out great and the girls loved it. I got the sand at HomeDepot on their "damaged" pallet. There was a hole in the bag so they only charged me $1 for a $6 bag of sand. Score! But I only used a fraction of the bag of sand so I need to put it somewhere.
Courtney's sand castle is on the left and Ethan's is on the right:
Splash Pad
We took the kids to Heritage Square in St. George where they have a lazy river going through the center of the Square. Kids climb all over and play in the water. They also have a fountain that runs and kids can run through it and get wet. It is a lot of fun. We took water cannons so the kids could have a water fight and they loved it! It is usually really packed when it gets so hot but it wasn't too bad this time. Two summers ago we met Bryan there after work one day a week so the kids could play and we could relax.
Here is a video of one of their water fights:
Gods and Heroes Camp
Last year Ethan went to a Gods and Heroes camp where he learned all about the Greek mythology. He loved it so Courtney wanted to do it this year. This year they are learning about the Roman gods. She got to make a shield and a banner. She also learned about Roman numerals and learned a bit of Latin. She loved it!
Monday, June 18, 2012
So Long Sympathy
This is a good thing. Not that I am complaining at all but I thought I would have some kind of war wound. Oh well. I guess I should have known because the scar on my leg is completely gone from the last time Dr. Duke found something he wanted to "just check and see."
See if you can spot the scar in the pictures. The top one I took myself inside the house (that's why it is yellow-ish-orange) and you can't see the scar at all. In fact, I what I thought was the scar in the picture is actually by my elbow!
Can you see it?
Sunday, June 17, 2012
My Arm
Last Tuesday morning I had the stitches taken out of my arm. Well, they took the three top stitches out. I still have 12 that are internal and will dissolve. But I had a horribly mean nurse!!
The nurse last week, who changed my bandages, was really nice. She took the surgical tape off very gently and was so careful with the stitches. She put on some new surgical tape that was "glued" down so I wouldn't rip open the incision with all the movement of my arm. It stayed on really well.
When I went to have the stitches out, I had a different nurse who, frankly, didn't care about being gentle...and you can tell from the photos. She carefully pulled off the tape from above the stitches and then she YANKED it down the rest of the way. I thought she was going to pull out the knot for the stitches! She not only pulled off the tape but also a bunch of my skin! Then she applied alcohol!! When I told her it hurt she stopped but she wasn't very nice about it. I didn't feel at all bad for her when, a few minutes later, the doctor yelled at her for not attaching the lab report to my file. Justice.
As you can see from the photo below, the new tape they put on blends right in with my arm so it looks much better. But you can see all the missing skin (in strips) below the incision point where I was skinned by the nurse. And, you can see all the glue residue that took days to get off because the skin was raw and I didn't want to rub it too much.
I have to massage the incision point daily and wait for the tape to come off. But I really don't think it will come off any time soon because the nurse "glued" it on again. I have been swimming twice and soaked it but it hasn't budged. So I think in a couple of days I am going to pull it off because it's starting to bug me.
The nurse last week, who changed my bandages, was really nice. She took the surgical tape off very gently and was so careful with the stitches. She put on some new surgical tape that was "glued" down so I wouldn't rip open the incision with all the movement of my arm. It stayed on really well.
When I went to have the stitches out, I had a different nurse who, frankly, didn't care about being gentle...and you can tell from the photos. She carefully pulled off the tape from above the stitches and then she YANKED it down the rest of the way. I thought she was going to pull out the knot for the stitches! She not only pulled off the tape but also a bunch of my skin! Then she applied alcohol!! When I told her it hurt she stopped but she wasn't very nice about it. I didn't feel at all bad for her when, a few minutes later, the doctor yelled at her for not attaching the lab report to my file. Justice.
As you can see from the photo below, the new tape they put on blends right in with my arm so it looks much better. But you can see all the missing skin (in strips) below the incision point where I was skinned by the nurse. And, you can see all the glue residue that took days to get off because the skin was raw and I didn't want to rub it too much.
I have to massage the incision point daily and wait for the tape to come off. But I really don't think it will come off any time soon because the nurse "glued" it on again. I have been swimming twice and soaked it but it hasn't budged. So I think in a couple of days I am going to pull it off because it's starting to bug me.
Saturday, June 16, 2012
Swimming!
One thing my kids LOVE about summer is that we go swimming a lot. We don't have a pool in our backyard (we wish) but we buy a Tri-Pack Pass which gets us into the St. George City Pool, Rec Center and the Sand Hollow Aquatics Center.
This week we went to the City Pool on Monday and Thursday and to the SHAC on Friday. Along with this, Ethan had a swim birthday party for a kid in the neighborhood Friday afternoon, so he swam 4 times. We think we are going to do a rotation next week of SHAC on Tuesday, City Pool on Thursday and SHAC on Friday.
We try to swim each Friday night and yesterday Bryan rode his bike from work and met us there. He has been biking a lot lately!
The kids love to jump off the diving board and the one at the SHAC isn't as crowded as the one at the City Pool. But the City Pool has the hydrotube that is awesome!
How do we live in St. George during the HOT summer? We go to the pool A LOT!
This week we went to the City Pool on Monday and Thursday and to the SHAC on Friday. Along with this, Ethan had a swim birthday party for a kid in the neighborhood Friday afternoon, so he swam 4 times. We think we are going to do a rotation next week of SHAC on Tuesday, City Pool on Thursday and SHAC on Friday.
We try to swim each Friday night and yesterday Bryan rode his bike from work and met us there. He has been biking a lot lately!
The kids love to jump off the diving board and the one at the SHAC isn't as crowded as the one at the City Pool. But the City Pool has the hydrotube that is awesome!
How do we live in St. George during the HOT summer? We go to the pool A LOT!
Piano Bags
Since Courtney started piano lessons, she felt that she needed a cute piano bag. I wanted to keep her excited about the new adventure of piano lessons, so we went out and bought some material. And I made her a new piano bag:
Which she loves:
Ethan felt like his piano bag was getting old and he wanted a new one so I used the scraps from a pair of pj bottoms I just made for him (he picked out the material himself) and made him a bag. He loves it too, although he wouldn't be caught dead posing with it!
Maybe this will excited him enough to practice...wishful thinking!
The End of Our Trip
When we finished up with the party, we went to the new Emery County
Aquatics Center in Castle Dale and went swimming. It was really nice
and the kids had a blast jumping off the diving board.
Then we went back to Ferron. The newspaper had said that the Utah National Guard were at Millsite doing some training exercises for 2 weeks. My cousin's husband is on the Emery County SWAT team and they were going up on Sunday to train with them. The newspaper said that on Saturday EVENING there would be a Community Night where the National Guard would bring all their equipment down to the park (right next to the cabins at Gilly's) and let the community see them. Ethan was all excited for that so we headed back to Ferron expecting to see something. We were deeply disappointed to hear that the Community Night had been in the morning! The kids were bummed.
We went and ate at the Grub Box (really good food but slow service), played at the park next to the cabins and then went to bed.
Sunday morning we loaded up and headed back home. It was a fun weekend!
Then we went back to Ferron. The newspaper had said that the Utah National Guard were at Millsite doing some training exercises for 2 weeks. My cousin's husband is on the Emery County SWAT team and they were going up on Sunday to train with them. The newspaper said that on Saturday EVENING there would be a Community Night where the National Guard would bring all their equipment down to the park (right next to the cabins at Gilly's) and let the community see them. Ethan was all excited for that so we headed back to Ferron expecting to see something. We were deeply disappointed to hear that the Community Night had been in the morning! The kids were bummed.
We went and ate at the Grub Box (really good food but slow service), played at the park next to the cabins and then went to bed.
Sunday morning we loaded up and headed back home. It was a fun weekend!
Oman Reunion/Bert's Birthday
My Uncle Bert was celebrating his 80th birthday so his daughters decided to make it into an Oman Family Reunion. We haven't had one since my Aunt Donna Mae passed away in 1994 and we all attended the funeral. How sad it that?! So it was about time.
We drove to the Church in Castle Dale (which has been added on since we were there last and is HUGE, there is an elevator to get to the second floor where they put the Primary!) and got ready to party. Immediately I realized that there were people I did not recognize, so I latched onto the cousins I did know and we tried to figure out who everyone was together. So sad but we didn't want to go up to someone and not know who they were.
There were some who hadn't changed at all (Bert's daughters, Joyce, Maria) but there were others that I just didn't recognize and there were some who didn't know who I was at all but when I told them my name, remembered (thank heavens!). It was actually a lot of fun seeing everyone.
It was a potluck and there was a ton of food. We ate and then went around the room introducing each family. Dad is one of 8 children, 7 of whom made it to adulthood. There are 4 remaining siblings (Voniel, Bert, Ferris and Eldon) and all 7 families were represented (although one cousin from Voniel's family came really late and we didn't get to see her). So it was good. We took family pictures (really informal) and then sibling pictures.
Uncle Bert and his family. Bert is my Dad's brother.
Uncle Joe and his daughter Joyce and her son. Aunt Donna Mae is his wife and my dad's older sisters who passed away:
Our family, minus Leigh Ann and Gary:
Uncle Eldon and his family, minus Jesse:
Uncle Blaine and his family. Uncle Blaine was married to Aunt Ramona who was Dad's sister just older than he was.
Aunt Leora and her family. Aunt Leora was married to Uncle Glen who was Dad's brother who passed away when Ethan was little.
The siblings and their spouses or spouses of deceased (except Joe had left by this time)
The boys:
We drove to the Church in Castle Dale (which has been added on since we were there last and is HUGE, there is an elevator to get to the second floor where they put the Primary!) and got ready to party. Immediately I realized that there were people I did not recognize, so I latched onto the cousins I did know and we tried to figure out who everyone was together. So sad but we didn't want to go up to someone and not know who they were.
There were some who hadn't changed at all (Bert's daughters, Joyce, Maria) but there were others that I just didn't recognize and there were some who didn't know who I was at all but when I told them my name, remembered (thank heavens!). It was actually a lot of fun seeing everyone.
It was a potluck and there was a ton of food. We ate and then went around the room introducing each family. Dad is one of 8 children, 7 of whom made it to adulthood. There are 4 remaining siblings (Voniel, Bert, Ferris and Eldon) and all 7 families were represented (although one cousin from Voniel's family came really late and we didn't get to see her). So it was good. We took family pictures (really informal) and then sibling pictures.
Uncle Bert and his family. Bert is my Dad's brother.
The siblings and their spouses or spouses of deceased (except Joe had left by this time)
Cleveland Lloyd Dinosaur Quarry
Ethan, Courtney and I were watching a documentary on dinosaurs a few
weeks ago and it mentioned the Cleveland Lloyd Dinosaur Park. I told
the kids that I grew up near there and they wanted to go. Luckily, we
had a trip to Emery County planned, so we obliged them. Unfortunately, I
had forgotten how long the drive was on dirt roads. But we survived.
We were at the gates a bit early, so Courtney, Ethan and Grandpa got to walk around and hunt for more dinosaur bones while we waited. The volunteers pulled up, unlocked the gate and we drove to the Quarry. Now, when I was in 1st grade, this was the field trip. We all thought it was so cool to see the metal building where the bones were being dug.
It certainly has changed, like everything else. They actually had a museum-type building where you could look at fossils and do some activities. The metal buildings were still there and looked a lot smaller to me than they did back when I was a kid. It was "free National Park day" so that was a bonus.
Here are Ethan, Courtney and Grandpa in the museum:
Here is Courtney after pulling together a dinosaur:
Ethan after putting together the dinosaur:
After the kids put together the dinosaur bones, we went for a hike around to see some other sights around the quarry. It could have been a really long hike but we shortened it by cutting through some areas. It was a beautiful day!
Above: Grandpa, Courtney and Ethan in one of the metal buildings looking at the bones.
Below: On the hike:
Then we loaded back in the car, drove back to Castle Dale and went to the cemetery where the Oman side of my family is all buried. It was fun to tell stories to the kids about their ancestors.
We were at the gates a bit early, so Courtney, Ethan and Grandpa got to walk around and hunt for more dinosaur bones while we waited. The volunteers pulled up, unlocked the gate and we drove to the Quarry. Now, when I was in 1st grade, this was the field trip. We all thought it was so cool to see the metal building where the bones were being dug.
It certainly has changed, like everything else. They actually had a museum-type building where you could look at fossils and do some activities. The metal buildings were still there and looked a lot smaller to me than they did back when I was a kid. It was "free National Park day" so that was a bonus.
Here are Ethan, Courtney and Grandpa in the museum:
Above: Grandpa, Courtney and Ethan in one of the metal buildings looking at the bones.
Below: On the hike:
Emery County
Last weekend was the Oman Family Reunion/Bert Oman 80th Birthday Party in Emery County. We haven't had an Oman Family Reunion since 1994 so I wanted to go. I was afraid I wouldn't know anyone or worse, that no one would know me. But we planned it and were off.
We stayed in cabins at Gilly's in Ferron (the reunion was originally going to be at the park in Ferron). They weren't bad at all. We got to Ferron on Friday afternoon, found my parents (their cabin was next door) and went to Huntington to look at the old neighborhood and visit the cemetery. Things looked A LOT different from the last time we were there. The old barn behind our house was gone, along with the work shed. The side and back lawns with the garden area looked like they were completely gone too. It used to look huge (even 4 years ago when we were back last) but it looked kind of run down now. I was a bit sad.
The cemetery looked very nice and it was fun to try and explain how everyone was related. Bryan thought he had it at one point, but then he lost the connections. Hahaha.
We then went to Price where we were SUPPOSED to eat at China City. This was our family's very favorite restaurant growing up. It's where we celebrated birthdays, graduations, good dentist appointments, etc. I LOVED their moo goo gai pan and haven't found any to top it anywhere. It would sizzle as they brought it out to you and it was stuffed full of chicken (not mushrooms like they serve in St. George) They also had these huge shrimp that were to die for!
I looked it up online to make sure they still had moo goo gai pan and there was their menu with the same building showing on their website. Imagine our complete SHOCK when we showed up to an abandoned building!! No go for the shrimp or the moo goo gai pan. I was so upset...so was Ethan who was looking forward to shrimp.
We ended up at Pizza Hut.
Then we drove around the college, which has changed a lot too. And started back to Ferron, a 40 minute drive.
We stayed in cabins at Gilly's in Ferron (the reunion was originally going to be at the park in Ferron). They weren't bad at all. We got to Ferron on Friday afternoon, found my parents (their cabin was next door) and went to Huntington to look at the old neighborhood and visit the cemetery. Things looked A LOT different from the last time we were there. The old barn behind our house was gone, along with the work shed. The side and back lawns with the garden area looked like they were completely gone too. It used to look huge (even 4 years ago when we were back last) but it looked kind of run down now. I was a bit sad.
The cemetery looked very nice and it was fun to try and explain how everyone was related. Bryan thought he had it at one point, but then he lost the connections. Hahaha.
We then went to Price where we were SUPPOSED to eat at China City. This was our family's very favorite restaurant growing up. It's where we celebrated birthdays, graduations, good dentist appointments, etc. I LOVED their moo goo gai pan and haven't found any to top it anywhere. It would sizzle as they brought it out to you and it was stuffed full of chicken (not mushrooms like they serve in St. George) They also had these huge shrimp that were to die for!
I looked it up online to make sure they still had moo goo gai pan and there was their menu with the same building showing on their website. Imagine our complete SHOCK when we showed up to an abandoned building!! No go for the shrimp or the moo goo gai pan. I was so upset...so was Ethan who was looking forward to shrimp.
We ended up at Pizza Hut.
Then we drove around the college, which has changed a lot too. And started back to Ferron, a 40 minute drive.
Wednesday, June 6, 2012
My Arm
I wasn't going to post about this but figured I would document my family history in medical so it might help someone. At the funeral yesterday, one of the sons said that everyone is born with "biological ticking time bombs" and it's our responsibility to know what those are so we can disarm them when the time comes. I agree with that assessment.
One time bomb in my family is skin cancer. Oman's do not tan. It's just a fact of life. We are pasty white, always have been and always will be. It took me a long time to be fine with that but I have come to grips with the fact that I will never been tan. Okay.
But, I have to watch when I do get in the sun to always wear sunscreen and then to be aware of moles that don't look quite right.
When I was pregnant with Courtney, I noticed a freckle on my leg that hadn't been there before and kept getting bigger. I asked my OBGYN and she said it was nothing but thought I should have a dermatologist check it out. I made an appointment with my dad's doctor so he would know our family history of skin cancer/melanoma. He is a character (to put it mildly). He took one look at the freckle, said, "That doesn't look good," numbed me and used a razor blade to take it off. Ugh! All like that, without any preamble or explanation.
It turned out to be an "dysplastic nevus" with a "senescent change" that was "aggressive." This means that I had an ugly mole that was quickly changing from being just a regular mole to a melanoma mole. Since I have a family history of this, it meant that a week later I had to go back in to Dr. Duke and have a huge section (actually it was only the diameter of a quarter and only 1/2 inch deep) cut out of my leg and then sewn back up. But he got all the changing cells. I was then told that I had to go in every year to have a full-body check for other "ugly moles."
Now, everyone has "dysplastic nevus." Dysplastic nevus are what turn into melanoma. But not all dysplastic nevus will turn into melanoma. Many people have "ugly moles" and never have melanoma. The difference is in your genes.
So for the past 6 years I have watched my moles, had my body checks and been fine. Last month I went in because I had a couple moles that bugged me. Once again, Dr. Duke looked at them, grabbed his razor blade and I left the office with 2 "owies." A week later I got the call that I had another "dysplastic nevus" that had a "senescent change" but it was only "moderate." They still felt that they needed to cut it out of my arm.
This time, because this is my second dysplatic nevus, I am now considered to have FAMMM (familial atypical multiple mole-melanoma syndrome). Just a fancy way of saying that I have to keep watching my moles.
So last week, once again I was in the office where he cut out a chunk of my arm. It was about 3 1/2 cm long, 1/2 inch wide and 1/2 inch deep. He took pictures of it wide open then with stitches so I could show my kids (not something I really wanted to do but I did tell you that he is a character). It took 15 stitches to put back together (12 inside and 3 outside). The weird thing is that it really hasn't hurt at all. What hurt was the horrible wrap they put around my arm that itched!
I have another week until they can take the stitches out and I haven't heard if they are sure they got all the "changing cells" or not, but with that huge of an area, I'm pretty sure they did.
IF YOU ARE SQUEAMISH, DO NOT LOOK AT THE PHOTOS BELOW!!!! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.
This is when it's opened up:
This is after he stitched it closed. You can see the nurse's fingertip on the left side. That helps with the scale.
One time bomb in my family is skin cancer. Oman's do not tan. It's just a fact of life. We are pasty white, always have been and always will be. It took me a long time to be fine with that but I have come to grips with the fact that I will never been tan. Okay.
But, I have to watch when I do get in the sun to always wear sunscreen and then to be aware of moles that don't look quite right.
When I was pregnant with Courtney, I noticed a freckle on my leg that hadn't been there before and kept getting bigger. I asked my OBGYN and she said it was nothing but thought I should have a dermatologist check it out. I made an appointment with my dad's doctor so he would know our family history of skin cancer/melanoma. He is a character (to put it mildly). He took one look at the freckle, said, "That doesn't look good," numbed me and used a razor blade to take it off. Ugh! All like that, without any preamble or explanation.
It turned out to be an "dysplastic nevus" with a "senescent change" that was "aggressive." This means that I had an ugly mole that was quickly changing from being just a regular mole to a melanoma mole. Since I have a family history of this, it meant that a week later I had to go back in to Dr. Duke and have a huge section (actually it was only the diameter of a quarter and only 1/2 inch deep) cut out of my leg and then sewn back up. But he got all the changing cells. I was then told that I had to go in every year to have a full-body check for other "ugly moles."
Now, everyone has "dysplastic nevus." Dysplastic nevus are what turn into melanoma. But not all dysplastic nevus will turn into melanoma. Many people have "ugly moles" and never have melanoma. The difference is in your genes.
So for the past 6 years I have watched my moles, had my body checks and been fine. Last month I went in because I had a couple moles that bugged me. Once again, Dr. Duke looked at them, grabbed his razor blade and I left the office with 2 "owies." A week later I got the call that I had another "dysplastic nevus" that had a "senescent change" but it was only "moderate." They still felt that they needed to cut it out of my arm.
This time, because this is my second dysplatic nevus, I am now considered to have FAMMM (familial atypical multiple mole-melanoma syndrome). Just a fancy way of saying that I have to keep watching my moles.
So last week, once again I was in the office where he cut out a chunk of my arm. It was about 3 1/2 cm long, 1/2 inch wide and 1/2 inch deep. He took pictures of it wide open then with stitches so I could show my kids (not something I really wanted to do but I did tell you that he is a character). It took 15 stitches to put back together (12 inside and 3 outside). The weird thing is that it really hasn't hurt at all. What hurt was the horrible wrap they put around my arm that itched!
I have another week until they can take the stitches out and I haven't heard if they are sure they got all the "changing cells" or not, but with that huge of an area, I'm pretty sure they did.
IF YOU ARE SQUEAMISH, DO NOT LOOK AT THE PHOTOS BELOW!!!! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.
This is when it's opened up:
Gymnastics
Courtney has been asking to do gymnastics for a month or so. I checked things out and found a place that has a nice facility and a summer program. So I signed her up to take gymnastics, two days a week. She had her first class yesterday and loved it!
We went to pick her up and were watching when Ethan said he would like to try it. He has since changed his mind, he thinks. I told him we would watch the Summer Olympics then he would decide. I think it would be cool!
Now Courtney thinks she needs all the "gymnastics outfits" but I keep telling her that she doesn't need them. She may be doing this for the clothes. ;)
We went to pick her up and were watching when Ethan said he would like to try it. He has since changed his mind, he thinks. I told him we would watch the Summer Olympics then he would decide. I think it would be cool!
Now Courtney thinks she needs all the "gymnastics outfits" but I keep telling her that she doesn't need them. She may be doing this for the clothes. ;)
Basketball
Snow Canyon High School offers a basketball skills camp and a basketball shooting camp every summer for boys and girls from 4th grade up. We didn't know about it last year but this year we did. Ethan had told me that he didn't want to do it but then on Monday morning we started getting phone calls from the moms of boys in the neighborhood wondering if Ethan wanted a ride. Finally, after 4 texts he decided to "cave to peer pressure, fine!" and go to the skills camp only.
HE LOVED IT!! His tennis shoes are falling apart and have holes all over in them (I wanted to wait until school started and didn't think he would need them for anything but camping) but he doesn't care. There are 5 boys from our little neighborhood in it and we car pool together. He has camp Monday through Thursday this week for 1 1/2 hours each day. At the end he will get a t-shirt and is so excited.
I have realized that sometimes we just need a little push to get us going. I'm glad he loves it though!
HE LOVED IT!! His tennis shoes are falling apart and have holes all over in them (I wanted to wait until school started and didn't think he would need them for anything but camping) but he doesn't care. There are 5 boys from our little neighborhood in it and we car pool together. He has camp Monday through Thursday this week for 1 1/2 hours each day. At the end he will get a t-shirt and is so excited.
I have realized that sometimes we just need a little push to get us going. I'm glad he loves it though!
My 3rd Counselor
Courtney is such a trooper. The past 2 days have been absolutely crazy but I have had so many people step in to help, Courtney has been a huge help and Ethan had adapted to everything like a champ.
We had a funeral yesterday in our ward that I had to get ready. I am an organizational freak so I had check lists of what needed to be done and I had everyone organized last Thursday before we left for our camp out. I posted the sign up sheets on google docs for women to sign up for food. I bought hams and potatoes on Saturday afternoon. Sunday during Sunday School I sent around a sign up sheet for salads/desserts/baking the potatoes and helping at the funeral. The Elder's Quorum put up chairs and tables on Sunday afternoon. Courtney and I went up on Monday to put on the table clothes and decorate the tables. We also got everyone out of the Relief Society closet so we wouldn't have to disrupt the viewing to get plates, etc.
On Tuesday morning Courtney and I ran up to the Church at 9:30 a.m. to start getting things ready. The viewing was from 9-10:30 with the funeral beginning at 11:00. I couldn't believe how much help Courtney was to me. All the women called her my "third counselor" and she was loving it. She put cups on the tables, helped carry food to the kitchen, etc. After the funeral, she stayed with the women at the Church while I ran home to get the hams that had been cooking in my oven. When I got back, she had been busy helping to set things on the table and get things ready for the family to come back.
She helped serve the food, clean up afterward (she can shake table cloths like a pro) and she vacuumed the floor. And she did this all without complaining...except when it was 2:00 and she was starving! Yes, it was a long funeral day. We went up at 9:30 and got home around 3:30. But I had so many people helping. (We had a lot of down time because we had everything organized so there wasn't much to do. I was grateful to all the woman who stuck around to help for hours.)
Ethan got a ride to basketball skills camp and the same family brought him back to their house afterward and fed him lunch. Another woman brought out family dinner last night. I am grateful to those who step up and help. And they don't even tease me when I give them a check list! ;)
We had a funeral yesterday in our ward that I had to get ready. I am an organizational freak so I had check lists of what needed to be done and I had everyone organized last Thursday before we left for our camp out. I posted the sign up sheets on google docs for women to sign up for food. I bought hams and potatoes on Saturday afternoon. Sunday during Sunday School I sent around a sign up sheet for salads/desserts/baking the potatoes and helping at the funeral. The Elder's Quorum put up chairs and tables on Sunday afternoon. Courtney and I went up on Monday to put on the table clothes and decorate the tables. We also got everyone out of the Relief Society closet so we wouldn't have to disrupt the viewing to get plates, etc.
On Tuesday morning Courtney and I ran up to the Church at 9:30 a.m. to start getting things ready. The viewing was from 9-10:30 with the funeral beginning at 11:00. I couldn't believe how much help Courtney was to me. All the women called her my "third counselor" and she was loving it. She put cups on the tables, helped carry food to the kitchen, etc. After the funeral, she stayed with the women at the Church while I ran home to get the hams that had been cooking in my oven. When I got back, she had been busy helping to set things on the table and get things ready for the family to come back.
She helped serve the food, clean up afterward (she can shake table cloths like a pro) and she vacuumed the floor. And she did this all without complaining...except when it was 2:00 and she was starving! Yes, it was a long funeral day. We went up at 9:30 and got home around 3:30. But I had so many people helping. (We had a lot of down time because we had everything organized so there wasn't much to do. I was grateful to all the woman who stuck around to help for hours.)
Ethan got a ride to basketball skills camp and the same family brought him back to their house afterward and fed him lunch. Another woman brought out family dinner last night. I am grateful to those who step up and help. And they don't even tease me when I give them a check list! ;)
Ethan's Tooth
Once Ethan gets the "tooth pulling bug" he just has to keep going. So it wasn't a surprise when he came out on Tuesday morning with a tooth in his hand. Yes, it was loose before but it wouldn't have come out so quickly if it hadn't been for Ethan's persistent wiggling. He now has holes where all 4 of his molars were. Crazy kid!!
I think this may be the last one he can pull out on his own, so it's good that Courtney's teeth fall out so slowly. He will have years of joy ahead of him pulling her teeth.
The one he lost this time is on the left (you can see a little red) and you can also see the hole on the right where it's mirror tooth was before he pulled that one out.
I think this may be the last one he can pull out on his own, so it's good that Courtney's teeth fall out so slowly. He will have years of joy ahead of him pulling her teeth.
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