A Disappointed Fan

All I can say is "I am one sad fan." Those of you who know me really well, know I am a huge Dallas Mavericks fan. I don't know why, but I am. Maybe its because I secretly wish I could play basketball, but with my lack of skills with a basketball - that will NEVER happen. So, instead of playing - I watch. Warren and I lived in Dallas for 4 years while he was in dental school and we went to alot of the games. This is when I discovered how much I like to watch basketball. Anyways, the past couple of years have been pretty disappointing and embarrassing. They have lost critical post season games and I have watched every single one. Well, yesterday they lost again and the season is over. Their coach Avery Johnson was also fired and I really liked him. Needless to say, I am one disappointed fan. But, I guess there is always next year.

New Accessory and funny face

Nicole got her green and blue cast off last week and did an awesome job. I can't believe how calm she was as they sawed the cast off, took the pins out, and put another cast on. All she did was look at me and say, "I'm done" and "I want Daddy." But in typical Nicole fashion, she would say this and than smile. She loved the techinican that took the cast off and tried to talk to him. She really wanted an orange cast, but they needed to put a soft cast on - so she had to get plan white. We decorated the cast with colorful flowers and glow in the dark beads. She spent a good 10 minutes in the dark bathroom laughing at her glow in the dark cast, but after the fascination wore off she picked the beads off one by one. I am constantly amazed at how brave and strong she is. I got a bad splinter the other day and cried while Warren took it out. I guess I could learn some things from Nicole.

Taylor has been pulling the funniest faces lately, especially when someone smiles at her. She scrunches up her nose and gives the cheesiest smile. It looks sooooo funny. Her favorite thing to do is pull the books and basket off a bench in our family room. She quickly crawls over to the bench, dumps the basket over, pulls the books down, and than sits in the bench. She does this over and over and over again.

Taylor is getting pretty fast with her little walker. Every once in awhile she will let go and stand by herself, but she is pretty timid - so for now, we will use the walker. She loves it!!

The Eye of the Tiger

We all know the song:

It's the eye of the tiger, it's the cream of the fight Risin' up to the challenge of our rival-

Our little Kaylee is a perfectionist (like me) and also very shy (like I used to be). When she was 2, she would stop coloring with me because I was better than her. I would try to explain to her that I had been coloring for over 20 years, but that did not matter. All she saw was someone better than her. She is now 6 and things aren't any better. She hates all of the attention on her and when other people do things that she can't, she doesn't like to try. Well, the other day after Kaylee had decided she wasn't good at anything and everyone was better than her, Warren taught her this song. Since that night, she listens to it on Warren's IPOD all of the time. When she was asked by her gymnasitics coach to spot something while flipping over the parallel bars, she told him she would have the eye of the tiger. He smiled and gave her a high five.

After talking to Kaylee, Warren decided to get all of the girls best "eye of the tiger" poses. Here are a few:

Nicole kept cracking us up trying to immitate what we were doing

"Not easily provoked"

It was one of those weeks. Taylor was sick and teething, Nicole was having a hard time with things and getting frustrated, and Kaylee was emotional. I luckily found time to read my scriptures - I mean really read my scriptures. Not the hurried, quick read in a locked room (like the bathroom) before I am interrupted with someone crying, someone being hungry, etc. I decided to read the beginning of Moroni. When I got to Moroni 7:45, a versus I have read numerous times, something stuck out to me. In the definition of charity, it says "not easily provoked." I don't think I have ever noticed or paid attention to that part of the definition. I don't know about y'all, but I am easily provoked. It doesn't take a lot to get me going, especially after those "fun" days. In versus 48, it says, "wherefore, my beloved brethren, pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love..." What an eye opening experience for me. So, for the past week I have been repeating to myself and praying with all the energy of my heart to not be easily provoked. I know I am not perfect. I have slipped (Robin witnessed this), but I know if I pray with all the energy of my heart - I will improve. So for you Mommy's out there - take the time to reread Moroni chapter 7. It helps to refocus.

Spring Break-Well, sort of !

All I can say is this was a Spring Break I will never forget. We spent the first part of it in Utah with Warren's family spending alot of time with friends and family. As always, we packed in as much as we could skiing, playing at the park, driving to Salt Lake, motorcycle riding/4 wheeling, and playing with aunts, uncles, and cousins. Here are some highlights -
Sometimes I just have to look away and trust Warren.

Nicole spent the entire day making mud pies. Looks delicious!! By the end of the day, she was a MESS, especially after dumping the mud on her feet and in between her toes.

Every time we try to get Taylor to walk, she sticks her feet straight out - so Warren wrapped her legs in ace bandages and forced her to keep her legs straight. Surprisingly, she was fine with it and she actually walked around with Warren.

Taylor discovered swings and loves them. She giggled and laughed the entire time. Dogs were running all over the park and Taylor started barking like a dog. Now, whenever she sees an animal she goes, "Arff."

Now to the CRAZYYYYYYY part of the trip. On Thursday, Warren and I drove to Moab to meet some friends and family. As we were unloading the car, Nicole fell off the bunk bed in our cabin. I ran over to her and she was holding her arm. I looked at it and her elbow was not where it was supposed to be. So, Warren was off to the emergency room with our screaming Nicole.
Sure enough, it was broken. Part of her bone was floating around in her arm and she needed surgery. That night she tried to make the best of things. Anytime I pulled out the camera, she would try and give me a huge smile. For those of you who know Nicole, she can not sit still. This was torture for her. I tried to get her to rest, but she wanted to run around and play with the other kids. The medicine she was on made her really dizzy, so she would fall on her sore arm, but would immediately stand up, grab her arm, say, "Owww," and than run off to play. After about 30 minutes of playing, she got really tired, laid down, held her arm, and asked for ice. It made me sooooo sad to see her in so much pain.




The next day Warren, Taylor, and I drove to Grand Junction to meet with the pediatric orthopedic surgeon and go to the hospital for the surgery. The surgery was scheduled for 2:00 pm, but did not happen until 2 1/2 hours later. Poor Nicole couldn't have anything to drink or eat and she was dying. She would beg anyone she saw for juice, water, or an orange.

At about 4:30, a rude nurse came in and said," We are ready. Give her to me." She and Taylor were both asleep, so we were moving alittle too slow for her. Warren handed her Nicole, and she walked out the door. I was basically chasing her down the hall as Nicole was screaming because she woke up in some strange woman's arms. I told her to wait and she shut the doors right in front of me. I had remained pretty calm up until that point. I was pretty furious because I could hear Nicole crying. Anyways, after about 3 hours Nicole was wheeled into the recovery room. Because the surgery was so late, she had to sleep the night at the hospital. So I stayed with her, while Warren and Taylor stayed at the hospital's hotel.




















Nicole did pretty well that night. After Nicole woke up, her doctor came and gave her an orange. Right before the surgery started, Nicole asked for an orange and when she was waking up, she asked her for an orange again. Nicole lit up when she saw the orange. That night, we watched a lot of High School Musical and Dora while we ate oranges, crackers, and yogurt. We left the next morning and drove back to Moab. We spent half the day having fun in Moab and than left the next morning to go home.

What a crazy trip!!! Atleast, I know we will be back to Moab and hopefully we will spend that trip enjoying the sights instead of spending it in the hospital.