They're Going On!

Ethan had his yearly "growth check" with the orthodontist today.  Last time we went in, the orthodontist told us that it would probably be this year that Ethan needed to have braces put on.  I was expecting it so when we went in and Ethan had his teeth looked at, I wasn't surprised when the orthodontist told me that we needed to start ASAP.

Ethan has a really big overbite.  Because of this, his bottom front teeth hit the gums behind his upper front teeth.  Does that makes sense?  It wasn't a big deal last year but this year there is an indentation on his upper gums, behind his front two teeth, from his lower teeth.  Last year Ethan had a blister that developed in that spot that caused him quite a bit of pain.  The orthodontist feels like his bite needs to be corrected before any permanent damage can happen to his upper gums behind his front teeth.  He still has 2 teeth to lose but they are "hanging on by a thread" and should come out in the next week.  The permanent teeth above them are growing out to the side (so he has a couple of double teeth, like a shark!) so they aren't helping push the baby teeth out.  But they won't pose a problem in starting treatment.

Ethan is actually pretty excited to get braces (mostly because they have colored rubber bands so you have colored braces that you can change the color of each 6 weeks).  The orthodontist has an incentive program where, if you brush and take care of your braces like you should (and do a few other things), you can earn an Ipad mini by the time you get your braces off.  He also has swim parties, gave the kids a free t-shirt and gives them a free electric toothbrush when they get their braces on.  They wanted to put the braces on tomorrow and Ethan was all for it but I needed more time to adjust.  He will have them on in time for David and Jenny's wedding though, so he can "show them off."

The hygienist came in to grab Ethan to start his "records."  I wasn't sure what that entailed but they told me that he would be fine and that it was included in the price.  "It's just x-rays and stuff."  So I signed all the consent forms while they did his "x-rays and stuff."

When I finished up, they told me I could go find Ethan.  He was in a chair and the hygienist was getting ready to do his impressions. I was REALLY NERVOUS for the impressions part.  When I was a kid this was HORRIBLE!  It seemed like the putty stuff they used was going down my throat and I was going to choke and die.  I remember Leigh Ann having a really hard time with impressions so I was afraid for Ethan.  He has a very strong gag reflex and I knew it was going to be trouble.

Things have slightly improved.  They have flavorings for the putty stuff.  Ethan chose cookie dough.  They have smaller trays and the stuff sets up a lot quicker than it used to.  Even with all that, Ethan still had a rough time with the top teeth.

The hygienist put the gunk in his mouth and he started to gag...really badly.  It was probably good that it was before lunch but late morning because his tummy was empty.  She had him lift his left leg and then switch and lift his right leg.  I couldn't figure out why she was having him do that so I asked.  She said it is a distraction tool and makes them think of something else.  It worked for Ethan!  The impression came out "ok" so they didn't make it do it again but it wasn't the greatest.

The bottom impression wasn't so bad because the tray was a lot smaller than the top and his tongue was a buffer so he didn't feel like he was swallowing the putty.  He still lifted up his legs though to distract himself.  But he did great!!!

With that finished, we loaded back in the van and drove home.  The aftertaste of the flavoring wasn't the best so Ethan found a piece of gum to chew but other than that, he is excited to get braces.

The orthodontist also looked at Courtney's teeth and she will need braces but he doesn't think she will have them put on until she is a teenager.  And she is missing teeth so he said this will give us time to get Ethan out of braces and figure out if we want her to have implants or what.  Our poor kids and their teeth!!

Baptism Pictures

Courtney had her baptism pictures taken yesterday. There is a girl who grew up in our ward who is a photographer. I have seen her work and liked it so we scheduled a time with her. I made Courtney's dress last week and we were set to go.

The time for the pictures was 7 am so I was nervous that Courtney wouldn't get up too easily. I got up, got ready and went to wake Courtney up when she opened her door and came popping out. She was up and excited to get ready.

We did her hair, got her dressed and took off.

Our first location was at the Temple. Courtney was excited to have pictures taken there.

After getting some cute shots, we went to the Opera House for more pictures. Courtney knew the exact shots she wanted and our photographer was happy to oblige. 

After posing how she wanted to, Courtney was done but the photographer convinced her to keep going and they had a lot of fun. Some photos were posted online yesterday but we get all the pictures on Monday and I will post them.

I can't believe she is going to be 8!! 

Intermediate School

We were able to pay Ethan's school fees last week and get his schedule. He has the usual classes of language arts, math, social studies and PE. But he tested into honors science and has drama, art and choir also.

They are on a trimester schedule so the core classes stay the same but his electives change. 

He is a bit nervous but we are going to the open house next month and walking through his day a few times and then he will be fine.

Signage!

Here is the signage outside Bryan's new law office. Pretty cool!!  When they have a logo, I'll post it too.

Happy 24th of July

Happy Pioneer Day!! In Utah this is a state holiday celebrating the date Utah became a state. It isn't a "Mormon holiday" like some believe, although it is about the Mormon pioneers. I have a friend who said she loved getting a holiday that doesn't even apply to her because she isn't Mormon. Anyway...

The kids, as usual, were in the parade and it was hot!! Ethan and Courtney rollerbladed the parade route because it is too crowded to ride a bike. They were tired and sweaty when they finished.

 

Courtney fell down twice and got a scraped up knee but it wasn't too bad. 

Last year there were fun activities and water games in the park. This year they didn't have much. Home Depot was there helping kids build. Courtney did it but Ethan didn't want to.

 Sweaty Ethan!!

His Future Mode of Transportation

Ethan really wants a riding lawn mower. We were walking in Lowes the other day and he saw his "dream mower." He said he would even take this as his car when he turns 16. Hahaha!! I love this kid!

The Outdoor Pool

It has been hot and muggy!! The monsoon clouds have kept it warm and pushed up the humidity. Actually, it hasn't been so bad. On Saturday, it was hotter in Provo than it was here in St. George! Unfortunately I was in Payson at a funeral so I didn't escape it.

Yesterday our neighbor called and wanted to take Ethan to the pool with her kids. He wasn't sure he wanted to go but Courtney did!! So I ended up taking Courtney while Ethan went with his friend. I was amazed by how empty it was at the pool. They went on the slide a lot and had the diving board to themselves a lot of the time. And it was overcast because of the monsoons so we didn't have to worry too much about sunburns. It was a lot of fun!

Swimming Lessons

I completely forgot that I had signed Courtney up for swimming lessons. Luckily, something jogged my memory Monday morning and I called the college and was told that, yes, she did start lessons that morning! 

We hadn't been able to get her in to the swim teacher we have had before so we decided to go to the college again. I thought they did a good job and Courtney was excited to try it out.

I wasn't sure what class to put her in so I signed up for the 2A class. It ended up being really easy for her. So I switched her to level 3 and she has done really well! Ethan even wishes he was in lessons.

Science Camp

Ethan, Brennon and Carter signed up for a science camp at the charter school where Carter attends. It is clear across town and was a bit pricey but Ethan wanted to try it so we signed him up. 

We figured out carpools and they were off! And they had so much fun!! They made GAK (glue, water and Borax), salt clay, a rocket, a CO2 car and other things. They came back each day talking a mile a minute about what they had learned and done.

They ran the CO2 cars today and Ethan said his was really fast. His rocket went so far that he lost it! He had a great time.

Here are the scientists:

I tried to get Brennon to smile but he wouldn't. ;)

Something's in the air!

I have not seen such an active wedding season since we were at BYU! I can't believe it!

In our ward we had a wedding at the beginning of June, one at the end of June, another last weekend, one this weekend, another next weekend and then we have a weekend off until David and Jenny's wedding in August!

You also have to account for the bridal showers, two of which happened when we were on vacation. Craziness but I am happy for all of them!!

Where's my phone?!?!

Sometimes my phone goes missing and then it shows up again someplace I don't remember putting it. I soon find photos like these on my phone and I realize where it has been. ;)

The Dress

Courtney wanted me to sew her baptism dress. I was a bit nervous because she never likes the dresses I sew for her and always say they are "too itchy!" I figured I would spend all this time making the dress and she wiuld never wear it (see every Easter dress I have ever made her for reference).  But we looked all over for a dress pattern that met all if her requirements: not itchy and not poofy!

We found a pattern where the dress was lines so it wouldn't be itchy. We found some heavier material that would make the dress not poofy (which was on a really good sale so it ended up being a very inexpensive dress!). I found some soft toile that would give a bit of body to the dress but wouldn't make it stick out and poof. I also left a couple of the toile layers put so it would lay flatter. Can you tell that "poof" is a major no-no in a dress for Courtney?!

I had to get it done this week because she has pictures next week for her baptism invite and i wasn't sure how long it would take me to sew. So I cut it all out on Tuesday and then spent Wednesday sewing it up. I had major stress on the zipper but my mom came over and gave me some advice and I got it sewn ok.

Courtney tried it on and LOVED it!! It isn't itchy or poofy. Yeah for me...now she wants me to make her more. ;)

Here it is:

Here is the happy girl:

She told me today that when she grows out of the dress she wants to save it for her daughter. Aahhhh.

Beach Day and the Freeman Beach House

We had a long drive today...Monterey to Garden Grove. We had decided we were going to have a beach day after our long drive.

We checked out of our hotel and began our long drive down to LA. I have to say the mapquest phone app has been a bit frustrating to us. Many times this trip it has had us turning right only to make a U turn at the next intersection. Today it wanted us to drive north a couple of hours before driving south to LA. Good thing Bryan checks the directions before we take off so we can ignore it when needed.

We made it to Huntington Beach by the early afternoon. It was really overcast and windy but the kids were determined to get in the water. We found a spot, paid for parking, changed clothes and got in the water. It wasn't too cold and the kids jumped right in.

Ethan tried body surfing and Courtney jumped over the waves. They had a great time!!

We had taken some sports things to play with - a frisbee, volleyball, etc. and the seagulls kept trying to steal our stuff. It was pretty funny watching the bird peck at our ball. 

After about 2 hours in the water, we packed it up, changed clothes and drove to the Freeman Beach House (that's what we call Kristina and Mark's house). They are so nice to let us stay at their house when we are passing through.

We had dinner, which my kids loved, then the kids showered and got ready for bed. They are on "vacation time" so they got to watch tv a bit before going to bed.

Bryan and I stayed up with Mark and watched tv while we waited for Kristina to get back from a girls camp planning meeting.

Then we went to their hot tub for a while before going back and getting ready for bed. They are always fun to hang out with! 

Tomorrow morning we head home!!

Bubba Gump's

Ethan loves seafood! He has been looking forward to eating at Bubba Gump's in Monterey all vacation!

He ordered Shrimp Heaven and he was in heaven!!

Courtney had chicken strips. ;)

Monterey Bay Aquarium

After the Mystery House, we drove to Monterey to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. I was nervous that the kids would be too tired after the morning tour, but they were super excited for the Aquarium.

We saw so much! They saw the kelp forest, sea horses, sea stars, penguins, jelly fish, sharks, shrimp, lobster and a ton of other fish.

Ethan got to pet a sting ray (without the stinger).

(I got a great picture of him and the sting ray on the camera.)

We saw seals.

The kids played games.

They especially liked the touch pools where they could touch fish, hermit crabs, kelp and sea weed.

After getting a prize at the gift shop, they were ready to go. It was a great day with the fish!

The Winchester Mystery House

I remember going to the Winchester Mystery House when I was a kid so I wanted to take the kids there. I had found a hotel where they gave us 2 free tickets and I bought 2 online before we left, so we were set!

This is a crazy house where doors open into walls and stairways go into ceilings. If you don't know the story behind the house, just google it.

You aren't allowed to take pictures inside the house but it was cool inside. Although it is crazy, the windows are beautiful and a lot of the elements in the house are before their time (showers, radiant heat in the floor, light switches, for example). Everyone seemed to like the tour.

After the tour, we went to the gun museum to see all the old guns.

Then we walked around the grounds.

It's a cool house, in my opinion.

The California Academy of Sciences

The last stop for us in San Francisco was the California Academy of Sciences. Since we were leaving the area after the Academy of Sciences, we drove our van. There were A LOT of people there so parking was a bit tricky. Bryan dropped us off in front while he went and found a parking spot.

This was another really cool place. The kids had a blast going through all the displays. We got to go in a rainforest habitat here spiders crawled free and butterflies were everywhere.

We got to feel the San Francisco earthquakes in a simulator. We got to see an America's Cup sailboat. And a lot of other things. It was really fun but the kids were pretty tired. 

Courtney was ready to go.

So we loaded up and drove to our hotel in San Jose. We checked in, went swimming, ate dinner and then went to bed.

It was a busy day!!

The Exploritorium

This place was so cool!! And it was absolutely huge. 

We got ready, ate breakfast, caught the muni and went to the Exploritorium. It was a huge museum/science center where you could play and learn things.

When we first walked in we saw this:

It was a toilet made into a drinking fountain. The kids thought that was cool. They had experiments to explain all kinds of science things. They had fog machines, optical illusions and sense perception displays. 

They even had a display that would move and follow your movements. It was weird!

Courtney even got to try and make a plane and put it on top of a wind tunnel to see if it would stay up.

After a couple of hours the kids were tired so we ate a snack, loaded back on the cable car and then caught a bus to our hotel.

I have to say that if we had had the muni experience we had today, yesterday, we would not have use it so much. The cable cars/buses were really late and the drivers were so rude today. But we are done with them so it's okay.

Giants Game!!

When we knew we were coming to San Francisco we decided we would have to go to a Giants game. I had found some tickets on stub hub a few months ago and so we were set. 

We rode the muni bus and then the tram to the ballpark and we got more and more excited the closer we got!! The place was filled with orange and black and we felt at home (or at least that is what Ethan said).

We got to the ball park and took some pictures before going in.

Once we passed the bag inspection and the metal detecting wand (which went pretty quickly and Ethan thought was cool), we went into the park. Now, going to a Giants game isn't like others I have been to. People show up, like us, a couple hours early to experience it. It was crazy how many people were there so far before the opening pitch. 

We found our seats...way up in the nosebleed section. We were one row down from the top but I loved it because we could see everything going on.

Bryan took the kids out to get dinner at a vendor and they loved it.  They each got dinner and then a treat. Ethan ate chicken strips and garlic fries, Courtney got the same thing with just regular fries, and Bryan got a cha-cha bowl with pineapple salsa. We saw a show on PBS a few months ago about the food at AT&T Park so we were excited to try some. Courtney got her treat of cotton candy.

After a while the kids got kind of bored so Bryan took Ethan for a walk and Courtney and I goofed off.

Actually, Courtney goofed off while I took pictures. ;)

The game started and the kids, especially Ethan, got into the game. Bryan had a score keeping app on his phone so they got to use that. I was proud of the kids. It was cold and windy and we only had light jackets. Ethan and I went out in the 4th inning to get our treat and we got hot cocoa from Ghiradelli. It was so yummy and Ethan now understands my need to go to Ghiradelli Square.

The kids did wonderfully but when the game was tied at 2 at the end of the 9th inning, we decided to go back to the hotel. The ride back was easy and we it back in great time.

The kids went to bed while Bryan and I stayed up watching the game in tv. I think I fell asleep at midnight but the game didn't end until around 12:30 am, I think, with the Giants losing in the 16th inning!!

What a FUN FHE!!