What the Heckistan!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AUSTIN! Today is my baby brother Austin’s 16^th birthday and I hope it was good for him. The phrase that I used for the title is from one of Kaylee’s favorite books, “Dear Dumb Diary”, and I think it’s funny so that is why I used it. I know it’s been almost a month since my last post and in the words of Inigo Montoya, “Let me explain, no,no that will take too long, let me sum up.” Here are some bullet points from the last month.

My cast came off after what seemed like for-ev-er, but in reality was only three weeks. I thought I would get another hard cast with and attractive cast boot, but I came home with a removable air cast which was a good step up. My ankle is stiff and I have to do home physical therapy but it doesn’t really hurt very much. My real problem is the bottoms of my feet are always so sore and tired it makes it hard to walk. When I described these symptoms to the podiatrist, he said it sounded like plantar fasciitis (which means your feet really hurt) and that the anti-inflammatory medication he prescribed for the swelling in my ankle should help. My first step after I got my cast off felt like I was standing on sharp rocks, so I’m not sure it really worked. I still had to use crutches for about a week, but I am off crutches now and I can drive so life is a lot better. I have another appointment in a few weeks and hopefully there will be something else that can be done.

The girls started back to school this week and they were so happy. Being homebound wasn’t exactly how they thought they would spend their summer so they were more than ready to start school. Even Dalin is happy to have a reason to go out and he looks forward to the car ride to school every day. They seem to like their teachers and the first week went pretty well so I hope the rest of the year follows suit.

Aiden, after telling me all summer that he didn’t want to go to kindergarten, announced on Wednesday that they finished the letter “Z” so now he was ready to go to the same school as Ashton. Too bad they didn’t get to z last week he could have been done in time for school to start. Not really, I feel good about my decision to have him wait a year, but I thought it was funny because I didn’t realize that was what he was waiting for.

So You Think You Can Dance

Our family is a fan of the summer reality show “So You Think You Can Dance”, and the kids are becoming quite the dance critics. They don’t get to watch the show very often because it comes on after their bedtime, but last Wednesday they got to stay up a little later and there was a conversation between Ashton and Aiden that went as follows.

Aiden: “Ashton how do you like my dancing?”

Ashton: “Really good, how do like mine?”

Aiden: “Great! I think we are better than the people on the T.V.”

Ashton: “Yeah, I bet if we tried out they would let us right through because we’re little and we’re cute and we can cry really easy.”

It’s good to know they can work their strengths.

Kaylee's Baptism

The big day finally came. Kaylee was able to be baptized yesterday and it was really great! There were three other kids from her class getting baptized that day as well so the building was pretty full. My nieces were able to sing the song they had planned on singing on the original baptism date so besides trying to get around on crutches (which I’m still bitter about, if you couldn’t tell) it was a fantastic experience. We went to the park across the street afterward to have cake and playing with the cousins which is always fun. When we got to the church we saw one of Kaylee’s friends from school. She moved across town a couple of months ago but I thought maybe she wanted to be baptized in the ward that she grew up in and that was why she was there. This was not the case. I had forgotten that this little girl’s birthday is in February, so she was baptized in April. Apparently the memory card from her mom’s camera got lost so they came to recreate her baptism memories. The girl and her dad both got into the baptism jumpsuits to get their picture taken, and I even heard that the mom was trying to get the relatives from California to come back into town to really authenticate things. I do have my own level of insanity when it comes to birthdays and Halloween, but now Chris understands how crazy I could be and I think he counts himself lucky.

I saw my Relief Society President at the baptism, and when she saw my foot I was in some trouble for not calling her. I think the Relief Society is a wonderful organization, but I have the hardest time asking for help. I really hate to impose on people and even though I wouldn’t think twice if I was asked to provide a meal or some other service for a family in the ward, it’s just out of my comfort zone to be the one receiving service.

Technical Difficulties

Our website was down for a few days and then the cable modem was going in and out, but we are up and running again and ready to blog. Much has happened since I wrote last, the most exciting of which is that my brother Jordon came home from his mission! We are super excited to have him here and we are all glad that everyone came home safely. While my parents were gone my brothers decided we should remodel the dining room at my parents’ house. Okay it wasn’t really remodeling, but finishing the addition to the house they started fifteen years ago. We (by we I mean mostly Aaron and Brian) painted, laid tile, put in baseboards and molding around the doors and did the general purging of all the junk that built up from the last time they left the country to pick up a missionary. It kind of inspired me to do my own mini room make over and I bought some shelves to organize my room and some wood and brackets to make a desk for the girl’s room. I was hoping to get it all done in one day and surprise Chris, but so far nothing is done. Hopefully it doesn’t take me fifteen years.

My brother Jason and his wife Mandy welcomed their first baby Kimball Anne Hafen to the world on Saturday. She weighed in at 6lbs 10oz and she is 19in long. We are so excited for them! We haven’t gotten to see her yet, Dalin has some strange rash and we don’t want to pass it on, but we will hopefully see her soon.

Today Kaylee and Ashton and I went school shopping with my sisters-in-law and nieces. The girls had all found matching shirts within the first ten minutes. They learned each other’s sizes and were quick to provide whatever piece of clothing had the number that matched the size. We didn’t take all of the suggestions, but it was so much fun that we decided to make it a tradition.

My family won’t let me get away without telling this last story so here it goes. On Monday Aiden and I were racing through the house and I slipped on a toy and broke my ankle. Needless to say I didn’t win the race and as I was lying on the floor in agony Aiden made sure I knew that he had won the trophy. Chris took me to quick care where I got a soft cast and some crutches. I HATE CRUTCHES!!! I had only been using them for 2 1/2 days when I went to the podiatrist on Wednesday. I never thought I would be so excited to get a cast. I was completely expecting to get a walking cast to put an end to the crutch phase. The doctor was really nice, and when he led off with, “Well I don’t think you’ll need surgery," he must have thought that would make me happy, but I hadn't even considered that as a possibility so it didn't really mean that much to me. When he ended with "...we’re going to put you in a non-weight bearing cast for a while.” it didn’t matter how nice the doctor was, he cursed me with crutches for another three weeks so he became my enemy. I borrowed a rolling chair from my brother so I can roll around the house, (luckily we have wood floors), and my sister-in-law's mother is letting me borrow a wheelchair, but it’s going to be a long three weeks.

Pioneer Day

I know there are those of you wondering if this is the real muckus.com, with more than one post in a month, but I think I am over my writers block. I wouldn’t count on this being the norm so enjoy it while it lasts. We had a pioneer day parade yesterday and the kids were able to be on the float. They were really excited about it until they had to wait in the hot sun for about an hour. The stake told us we should have the kids participating in the parade arrive at 8:15 am for the 9am start of the parade. Being the newly called primary presidency that we are we did as we were told. We ended up being the third from the last float and we didn’t even start moving until about 9:15 or 9:20. Our poor primary kids were so hot and sweaty, I felt so bad for them. They were all really good though and I was so proud of all of them. I didn’t hear any complaining and we learned a lot as a presidency for future parade ventures. After the parade there were scones and watermelon to eat and games to play at the park across the street from the church. We also had some local fire fighters hook up their hose and spray an area of the park so it was like it was raining. It was pretty fun but soooo hot. We were finishing up the games and Aiden asked when we were leaving. I told him we were going to go across the street to check out what was going on inside the church and then we would go. He said,” Oh yeah I think there is a wild party going on over there.” You know us mormons we love the wild parties, as long as there is green jello and Kool-Aid.

We went to my cousin John’s wedding reception last night, and I am really glad we did. It was really nice to see my cousin and his new bride and my extended family. My cousin sang a song to his wife that he had written for her and it was really sweet. I don’t think I have ever heard him sing by himself and I was really impressed. When it was over Ashton was really cute she was helping clean up, folding up chairs and cleaning off tables without being asked.

I am going to admit that I am part of the Harry Potter mania. I was determined not to read the series, but I enjoyed the movies so I finally gave in right before the fifth book came out. I am hooked. I am not fanatic enough to join the chat rooms of muggle.com or anything, but I really enjoy the books. I am amazed at the talent of J.K. Rowling to make up this entire world, with so much more that she didn’t even include in the books. There are about five books floating around my family so I didn’t get one at the 12:01 release, but Chris decided he should go to Borders at 11:45 because he likes crowds and he wanted to see the crazies. He wasn’t disappointed. He said the parking lot was packed and there was no shortage of people dressed in magic robes, Gryffindor colored scarves and wands. He said there was even a guy with a video camera using his wand as a microphone interviewing people. I am quickly losing my resolve to wait on reading it so hopefully someone finishes soon.

On the Road Again

We hadn’t really planned on going out of town this summer, but so far we have been to California, Idaho, Salt Lake and St. George Utah. Tomorrow we hit the road again. My cousin is got married today and is having his reception in St. George. Next weekend we have a family reunion at my grandpa’s ranch. The week after that Kaylee will be baptized and to end our traveling season (I think) we will head back to St. George another cousin’s wedding. We always enjoy getting together with our family so it’s been fun, even if we hadn’t planned all of these trips. I was recently called to be the secretary for the primary in our ward and so far I really enjoy it, but I feel bad because I have been gone so much, but we will be coming home on Saturday for the rest of trips.

Speaking of my new calling, I really enjoy it. I don’t have to teach or do sharing time and I get to hear all of the cute things the primary kids say, (like if Aiden had to leave his home and go across the plains, fruit snacks would be #1 on his list to take).

Oh I forgot the big news in our house is that Kaylee got her ears pierced last week. I have been debating on what was a good age for my girls to get their ears pierced and Chris and I decided that if Kaylee was old enough to decide to get baptized, she’s old enough to decide to get her ears pierced. She did really well, and she didn’t cry at all. I was afraid that she might decide it hurt too much after the first ear was done and not want to get her other ear done, but she was a trooper and now she tells anyone who will listen about her experience. We usually get together with my family for Sunday dinner, but my parents are out of town so she hasn’t seen her cousins to share the excitement.

Okay this is getting long, but since I put it out there, let me tell you about my parents being out of town. My brother Jordon was released from his mission last Friday, and my parents went to Portugal to pick him up. They get to spend about two weeks in Europe, but I’m not sure exactly all of their stops. They rented a car with a GPS system, but they have learned that those aren’t always the most reliable. We got an email from my dad the other day, and I know the spirit must be with them, because if it had taken them any longer to find the mission home, I think my dad would have unleashed some American style road rage on the impatient taxi drivers of Lisbon. They will be home on Thursday and I am so excited to see my brother again.

Pesky Little Brothers II

On our way home from Idaho we were able to stop in Salt Lake for a few days to celebrate Chris’s grandma’s 91^st birthday. Her actual birthday isn’t until the 19^th but when you’ve had that many birthdays the whole month should be a celebration! We went to the park and had lunch and visited with Chris’s grandma, aunt and uncle while the kids played their hearts out. It was really nice and I think fun was had by all.

Aunt Joan, Chris and Grandma Edwards

The girls finished their school year last Friday, and I am so happy to have a break from making sure everyone is ready and out the door by 8:45 am. Chris thinks I’m funny because I’m always so ready for school to get out, but I’m even more ready for school to start again. We are trying to stay busy so the kids don’t get too bored, but when it is 104 degrees by 9:30 in the morning it’s hard to want to go anywhere.

I have another little brother story courtesy of Dalin. Aiden wasn’t feeling very well the other day and he had fallen asleep on the floor. Dalin thinks anyone on the floor must be there to play so he kept trying to climb and sit on Aiden. I had told him many times to leave Aiden alone and he did for a few minutes then the little sneaker sat down next to Aiden and started rocking back and forth against his legs to try and wake him up.

One last story, we were at Costco yesterday and we were getting ready to leave, and as usual Chris and I had gotten separated. Ashton looked toward the back of the store and said,”There’s dad I see his Jazz shirt.” I told her that wasn’t Chris, but she was absolutely positive it was him, until we got closer. “Oh your right mom, that wasn’t dad.” So we were in search mode once again. Ashton then said,” I’ll keep a look out for him mom, I have eyes like an eagle.”

Sad News

My mother’s father, grandpa Haynes, died last week. It was pretty unexpected and he will be sorely missed. My grandparents live in Idaho, but they go to St. George for the winter. While they were there he had a couple of heart attacks at the beginning of this year. He had excellent care though and he was doing really well, so the doctors cleared him to go back to Idaho at the end of May. Then the Sunday before last he was having a pretty bad headache, but he said it had gotten better by the evening. On Monday night it was back so they decided to take him to the emergency room. They found out he had bleeding on his brain and they put him in the life flight helicopter and took him to Boise to operate. They gave him some pain medication and something to help him sleep through the flight. When they got to Boise the doctor found out there was stem cell damage and an operation wasn’t going to help. They put him on life support until his family could come to say goodbye. He passed on Tuesday afternoon.

The funeral was very nice. I was very impressed with the number of lives my grandpa touched. My grandpa was in the navy during WWII so there was a 21-gun solute and a military tribute for him at the gravesite. At the luncheon following the funeral there was a video with pictures of him throughout his life, and as I was watching it I was sure he was going to walk through the door. He and my grandma had recently celebrated their sixtieth wedding anniversary, so I know it will be very hard for her, but she was being so strong while we were there I know she will be all right. He was a wonderful man who had a deep respect for the gospel, an enormous love for his family, and a great example of hard work. I was blessed to know and love him, and to be loved by him in return. I am thankful to know he is with our Heavenly Father and watching over his family.