Day 3 of our Vacation

Today was just another leisure day. We started the day off by going to the pool, I think the heat has started to catch up with us. I was a little sick last night and real tired today. So we were only at the pool about two hours and then headed to the room and we just made some sandwiches and took a nap. It was very nice to have some down time after all the running around. Then Trent came home and he wanted me to rest and drink some water and get my energy back. He took the kids to see the lions again and there was one there with a mane! What that is all I have wanted to see, so I think we will try to go again tomorrow and see if I can get a peak at one of those. Then they came back to the Hotel and went to the Arcade, they were gone so long that I called worried and they were just having a good time. Trent is the best he just wants us to have a good time he does WHATEVER we ask him to do! Love ya Babe!

Then we wanted to venture off the strip and find some normal priced semi nice place to eat, so we found a Red Lobster and we ate there. McKay said as we were walking in that he really wanted to see a live Lobster, because he has never seen one (which I think he has but just can not remember at least I hope he has.) We ate, which I remembered that I don't like to take three wild children to the restaurant, they would not stay seated and were just really hyper! They are kids I have to tell myself!

It was off to the Belagio to see the water show after that. We were driving down the strip and we were stopped right in front of the Belagio so Trent told me and the kids to jump out and he would park and then meet up with us. Well we got out and then it started, the kids absolutely loved it. I called Trent and told him just to meet us back at the room at the Excalibur that was a mistake. The kids thought that I was ripping there legs off by making them walk that far. It was kind far but what are you suppose to do in Vegas? That is what it is all about I thought, and we had yet to walk past the M&M factory. So I thought they need the experience?! (We had no stroller this time either so Hannah was just a screaming!) I am a mean mom I guess! As soon as we got to the Hotel they had forgotten all about and were fine.

Trent asked Hannah about the Water Show and she said, "That the water was dancing to the music!" She cracks us up! Then we showered and called it another day in the life of Vacation!

The kids with the lion that has a Mane:)

This was at the entrance to the arcade! Hannah is always so HAPPY to take pictures, I promise she was having a good time, I think!!!

(I ended up taking this picture right after we walked the strip because Trent forgot the camera when he went, so I think that has a lot to do with the not so many smiles:()

Here they are with the LIVE Lobsters!! Hannah is to busy people watching to take a picture once again!!


The water show:) It definitely made us all smile big smiles!!!

We could not go home having not checked out this site!!

Day 2 of Our Vacation

Today we woke up and decided that we would try to stay in during the heat of the day. So we got ready and went to visit some stuff right by our hotel. We started out at the M&M Factory again, they have a little thing you walked through to see how they make M&M's and then you watch 3 D movie. They loved it. Then we went to the Coca Cola Factory, nothing much there.

We found a little food court that was normal price so we ate lunch there. Then off to see the Lions at the MGM Grand. They were out finally, this was our second or third time trying to see them. There was two trainers in the cage with them they were telling us all about them, so I will share the information with you. There is a total of 37 lions and there are 21 females and 16 males, they live twelve miles away from the strip on a personal ranch, they are not owned by the MGM. They give them a bath each morning and they use Johnson and Johnson baby shampoo, they alternate lions twice a day so they are only at the exhibt for about five hours at a time. We stayed at the exhibt for quite sometime. We enjoyed watching them interact with each other, one was trying to eat a rawhide bone and the other one was wanting to play. The one eating the bone jumped up and bite the other one on the tail. Needless to say we all got a kick out of that. The lion was not harmed!

We headed back to hotel and then we just went to our room and just chilled tell Trent got home. We then ventured down to the pool. It was nice and relaxing.

We then got dressed and drove down to the other end of the strip to watch the Treasure Island Show. The kids loved it and it was a nice time.

Waiting for the 3-D movie to start!!

Watching the lions take a drink.

Chewing on his Rawhide bone:)

Loving the exhibt! They did not want to leave!

On the bridge back to our hotel room.

Hannah is always hard to get to look at the camera, she is so busy watching everything else go on.

After an exhausting day. Are they not so cute? Ten minutes before this they were not SO cute!!

So Precious:)

Our First Day Of Vacation

Today was our first full day her in Las Vegas. We awoke at 8:00 a.m. ( I know I thought we were on VACATION) and we got ready and headed down to the pool. We knew it was suppose to be 112 degrees and that if you were in the sun for 10 minutes that you could get a sunburn, at least that is what the news said. So off we went and what we found was heaven at least to us water lovers. We found four different pools, one was for 18 and up and all the others were

3 1/2 feet deep, which works good for me because my big kids can touch everywhere. The first one we went to had a little slide and a couple water falls. It was SO much fun. Then we adventured around to the others and found a beach front one that me and Hannah loved because she could play and not need to be held.

We met some people that had kids the same ages as mine so they played great all day together. I told Trent to take a picture of us and two of the kids just jumped right in the picture. It was nice to have kids to play with.
K'Leigh was a great helper, she would walk all around with Hannah and they loved playing together. McKay was his usual all boy self, he played good and met some nice kids.


My SWEET girls:)

I tried to take this picture right when we first got there. The SUN was blinding them and they were not very patient with me and my camera, they wanted to get into the WATER.

We stayed at the pool until around 2:00 and then went and ate lunch and took a little resty. Then Trent got home around 4:00p.m. and we went back for some more fun. We met back up with the friends we met and played at the pool until 7:00 p.m. when it closes. Then went back to the room and got dressed to eat. Then we decided that we were all tired so we would just eat somewhere in our hotel. We came back to the room and turned in for the night.

It was a long day, I LOVED it! This is exactly how I want the rest of our time here to go.

Just for journaling sake, I have to add that my little Hannah still has her imaginary friends. Agga and Janda. They are also with us on vacation and day by day it is getting more and more interesting. We have to take them EVERYWHERE with us. We have to feed them and take them with us to the restroom. If we forget them she makes K'Leigh call them on her "hand" phone and tell them to ride there "mycycle" (motorcycle) to meet us. We love this and we probably encourage it to much but she is so dang cute about it. She is the baby and we all eat her up and she loves it!

Family Vacation

We decided to go on a little adventure to Las Vegas. Trent has been asked to be the D.A.R.E Police Officer and that requires him to go to a two week training class. They gave him a list about two pages long and we ended up in Vegas. Anyone that knows Trent can figure that one out, but it really was the one that works best with his Work and Football schedules (yes, football has already started!)

We decided after our rough start of a summer that we should just take the kids and RUN away.

They are very sheltered children we have found out.

We pulled into the EXCALIBUR parking lot and the big kids asked, "what are those cars for?"

I said they are TAXI'S. They thought that whole concept was very interesting.

We got settled into our Hotel room, got something to eat and then decided to go for a walk. We tried to go to MGM Grand and see the Lions, they were asleep. So we walked down a little and went to the M&M Factory and who knew that it had four floors. We went on all four and we loved each one. The kids wanted one of everything and it was hard to explain that we don't want to get our prizes on the first day, but they did awesome and just looked and said they would remember everything.

It was fun to watch and listen to the kids try to take in everything that they could see and hear. Me and Trent would just laugh and listen as there senses where on sensory overload.

I love my family SO much and am so gald that I get to spend some good family time with them:)

This is the kids in front of the M&M Factory

We got back to the room and showered and got to sleep. We have big plans of going to the pool as soon as it opens at nine a.m. It is suppose to be a HUGE HEAT WAVE this week, that is my poor whities luck. Thank goodness that I brought three bottles of 50+ sunblock, I know that over a certain number it is not suppose to be any better but with my girls and husband we take no chances. Needless to say we will be by water and have our sunscreen to reapply over and over and have LOTS of FUN!

A few funny things said in this trip so far that I don't ever want to forget!

• We stopped in St.George. The kids said there butts were falling asleep and I wanted to check the sales at Old Navy for school clothes. I had already decided that we had plenty of back packs and that we would cut that cost this year. Trent reminded me that I have always said that they needed new shoes and a new back pack for school, so he thought that they needed them. I said we could talk about it later. Well K'Leigh found the absolute cutest one there at Old Navy and I told her that it was up to her dad, of course he says yes. Then we had McKay pick one and then told Hannah that she could have one and she said NO. Then we explained that she was going to PreSchool like the big kids and she put that back pack on and was SO excited:)
• We were coming over the hill to come into Vegas and we told the kids to look and the older ones just were in Ahhh. They were so excited! Asking what everything was and which one was the EXCALIBUR that is the one we are staying in.
• Hannah saw Vegas and said, "No it is closed, the door is shut and locked." The only thing we could think is that she was tired and grouchy????? So Trent told her that he had a key and she believed him and she was so excieted once we got her and she saw our "HOUSE!"
• After we ate we were trying to go out of our Hotel and Trent was holding Hannah, I had K'Leighs hand and McKay was just walking we thought. He was temporarilly misplaced but we got all back together within seconds. That is why we decided to use the BUDDY system. We did get a few coments on the strip and a few looks, but we made it all back to the Hotel safely and that is all I care about.
  

My Four Month Story

So knowing what I know now I have decided to document some struggles that our family has been going through. A lot of you already know this but I am using this as a journal once again.

Back in March I had went to the Doctor for a little cold and some perscription refills. It was going along as a normal Doctor appointment would. He had started to feel my throat and said he was a little concerned about some lumps on my throat. I told him it was from the cold and assured him I was fine. He put me on some antibiotics and allergy medication. I was told to come back in ten days and we would check them again. I followed through with that appointment and he decided to beef up the antibiotic and start me on a steriod. I kind of forgot about it after that, I was feeling good so no worries.

Then I got a real stiff neck and so back to the Doctor I was and he thought it was time for a CAT SCAN and I told him that I just had another infection and to give me an anitbiotic. He was hesitant at first but I assured him I would keep an eye on them and let him know of any changes. He said he would give me until school got out (about three weeks) then he was making me get the scan.

I went home and told Trent the story and he demanded that I get the test, I started to cry and told him I wanted to be "Izzy Stephens" and not find out about any bad things that were going on. He said that I was young I could fight anything and his Dad has fought Cancer twice and beat it. I still was fighting, I did not want my kids to see me suffer. I finally gave in and they got me in the next day.

I went to Richfield and had the CAT SCAN. It was kind of a strange thing, but I made it through. They asked me if I had a bad upper respiratory infection? I said no, just some allergies. They told us that my Doctor would have the results by that afternoon. We went home and waited...... they called right at two and told me I had to come up to the clinic and have some blood tests. They took seven tubes of blood and said hopefully these would show something.

They came back pretty much normal.

Then he sent me to the General Surgeron, my tonsils were pretty enlarged and they had something called, "Crypts." They thought they might need to come out.

I met with the Doctor and he thought we should try taking the tonsils and see what the lymph nodes would do after that.

So June 1st they took my tonsils and it was SO painful. I think that I would rather have a natural child birth again then do that again.

They sent my tonsils off to patholagy to see what they would reveal. They came back saying NO Cancer, but that they defitnly needed to come out.

So now we just wait six weeks and hope that my Lymph nodes go down.

Well they did not and on Tuesday July 7, 2009, they decided it was time for a needle Biopsy.

They set it up for July 10,2009 at Utah Valley Hospital.

We were all calm and anticipating the day. I kept it together up until the night before and it just seemed like everything I had planned for the day and what to do with kids was falling apart. So I feel apart also. Thanks to my good friend Amy Rosquist, she kept my mind busy until Trent got home from a extra long and stressful day at work.

We decided to take the kids with us and we would just make it work. Then we got there early and I thought we had time to run them to Lehi, so we call Aunt Autumn and she says to bring them to her. So we continue the drive and then we get another call saying Camry has a stomach ache and was not feeling well. So there went that idea. We turned around and went to the hospital. Then Linda called and said that she was able to meet us and watch the kids, she got there right in time.

They took me back and Trent was still getting the kids situated with his mom. They said they needed me to sit down they needed to discuss some things with me (still no Trent). They said that if this is what they thought it was they would have to operate and take the whole lymph node. I was a upset to say the least. I kept it together until Trent came in and they told him, tears just rolled down my cheeks.

They started doing the Ultrasounds and calling the Radiolgist and he would watch the Ultrasound from where ever he was. They did it together for awhile and then they decided to get my CAT Scan from Richfield, they said this could take awhile. They put us in a waiting room which it seemed like forever but I am sure it was not. Then we went in for more Ultrasounds and phone calls to the Radiolgist and then the Radiolgist decided to come down and do some more tests.

Then he said that he was unsure why the Doctor had sent me. He thinks that I have a swollen gland and that most people have them. So he recomended a repeat CAT Scan in two or three months to make sure nothing had gotten bigger and if no change we are good to go forth with a "normal" life.

We were SO relieved and HAPPY.

Thank you to all of you that have helped in any way.

Thank you for all the thoughts and Prayers.

They are truly a blessing.

Just a side note that I do not want to forget for posterity sake.

When I was all done we went outside where Linda had the kids and McKay came running over and wanted to see where they poked my neck, so I showed him my throat and he said it was normal. I said I know because they did not have to do anything.

His response was, "Mom I knew you would be okay because I prayed for you on the elevator!"

That brought tears of Joy and Happiness to my eyes. What a true sign of what FAITH my seven year old has. I know that he is a example and teacher to me.

I want my family to know how much I LOVE them and THANK them for all there support.