Slip n' Trampoline

The boys jumping and Caitlin swinging them.

The weather has been rainy lately and the boys think its great! We spent one afternoon outside letting the boys go crazy in the rain. Thanks to Caitlin for being the one who stood in the rain pushing the boys on the swings. Sonja and I watched from the porch and stayed nice and dry!

Sneak Preview: I've been lax on updating but my next Wednesday blog will feature another blog that I follow. That gal who writes it is quite the inspiration and I only wish I had a handful of her zest of life because she's got it in spades! Sometimes I think to myself "WWND?" as in "What would Nie do?" as it relates to raising kids, having fun, just not taking things for granted. Looks like I got it right on letting the kids play out in the rain! Check out her blog here.

Rite of Passage

Luke at Diamondbacks game in 2010 and 2008 (bottom pic)



There are just some things that Dads and sons do that is part of growing up, a milestone really. When Troy started taking Luke to the Diamondbacks games, he was probably older than when most kids start to go. I mean I've seen babies snoozing in their Dad's arms at the game. Actually, that was on TV since I don't go often, but I've seen it! Luke was around 5 when he started going and quickly learned that there are other things besides baseball going on at the games. There are elevators, there is a play area, there are lots of bathrooms, even a swimming pool in centerfield, all kinds of good stuff! Troy learned that his baseball watching time is equal to the amount of time it takes Luke to finish off his popcorn bucket. Then its off for another adventure! Troy is a good sport and does his best to keep Luke happy...That's just what Dads do!

Website Wednesday - Max

Luke in front of Chrysalis Academy

I've decided to share a blog or website with you every Wednesday that has captivated me or at least captured my attention for more than a second.

It has been two months since the passing of Max who was a school buddy of Luke's. Although I barely knew little Max, Luke was able to spend almost a whole school year learning and playing with Max. Max's mom keeps a blog herself and I read it everyday, just because I am drawn to her strength and ability to carry on. She is a lawyer, but authored a book that I am dying to read that combines raising a child with autism with her love of theater and fascination with a Broadway star. The book is titled, "The Unreachable Star: My Unauthorized Travels with Patti Lupone. You can also check out Luke's school , Chrysalis Academy, website.

I was so moved by the terrible accident that took the lives of Max and his Dad that I was compelled to write an article for the local paper.

I hope you look forward to future Website Wednesdays...

I don't have a good photo to post yet, but I hope to put one up soon....

Sleeping Beauty

Sleeping Beauty at age 3 and 1/2

Today was a day of swimming, dinner with family, and watching fireworks. It was also a day that Sonja suffered another seizure. Lately, she has been having them more frequently, up to 1 or 2 per month. Her seizures are called gran mal and last at least 3 minutes, but sometimes longer. Its the longer ones that we worry the most about. If the seizure doesn't subside within 3 minutes, we pull out her emergency meds and knock it out with that. This keeps us from having to call 911 and have her transported to the ER. Still, if the emergency meds don't work, we will still call the paramedics for support. We've got the routine down pat and never hesistate calling if we need to. The EMTs are very nice.

So this morning, upon entering her room and seeing her in a seizure, the meds are usually given since we don't know when the seizure started. She could've been seizing for 1 minute or 1 hour, that's the hard part about finding her this way. We are always checking on her and have a baby monitor in her room, but outside of sleeping right next to her every night, there are going to be times we miss when she is having them.

When Sonja gets her meds, it takes about 3 minutes to kick in, then she is off to sleep, usually for half a day. The next few days she is tired and doesn't eat well, due to the heavy meds and the prolonged seizure. Sonja is a trooper though and she always bounces back.

The Princess and the Frog

Sometimes you get nostalgic and you go looking at the archives of the photos you took long ago. Who knows if I ever really printed these out or not. I am very bad at putting ANYTHING in an album, unless of course, for other people which I am very good at.

Sonja and Luke were the Princess and the Frog for Halloween of '04. Sonja was 3 and 1/2 and Luke just turned 1. Every year, there is a theme to our costumes. One year it was Toy Story, the next it was the 50's, we've done ASU outfits and last year it was Star Wars.

We may redo the Star Wars theme this year because it still is Cole's favorite movie and we may succeed in getting him into his costume. Last year he refused to put on the Darth Vader costume so he just wore a Star Wars t-shirt. He is actually putting on the mask and breathing heavily through it a la Darth Vader. The light saber fights he has with Luke are epic. And I can safely saw "The Force is with us now!"

That's Just How We Roll! Not!

Caitlin snuggling with Sonja and Dad tubing with the boys

In honor of how HOT (113F) it is where we live right now, I've decided to post pictures of our sledding trip this past March. Oh how cool and cold it was! The boys absolutely loved it, well, at least Cole did the second day. He just needed to understand that if you go sledding, you are gonna have to touch the snow with at least one part of your body at some point. Also, that taking off your shoes and socks during a tantrum from snow-phobia is no es muy bueno. Sonja was ever the thrill seeker as usual. She loves speed whether it be careening down a snowy slope or swishing down Slipper Rock at Oak Creek Canyon, always in the arms of Dad of course.

Luke has found his true calling in sledding. He was so independent, taking up his sled, coming down on his own, and just loving it. We just have to work on him not playing "Dodge Luke" with other sledders coming down the mountain...

I think I have a picture somewhere where all 3 kids are on the tube with Dad. That was quite a sight! The picture you won't see is of me, all by myself, hitting a bump, catching air, and biting it BIG TIME! I could just hear my back say "See You Later!" and its never been the same. That may have been my last performance on a sled. Apparently, I had badly bruised ribs and as I've been told, it feels as bad as having cracked ribs which is, you guessed it, no es muy bueno.