MS Walk

Last Saturday we did the MS Walk with my work. It was so much fun! I'm so glad we participated in it.

Back: Nick, my sister Michelle, friend/co-worker Kim, and me

Front: Zoe, Sydney

When we crossed the finish line, they gave us all medals for completing the walk. Which, despite the look in the picture, Sydney was really excited to get one. As we walked farther along there were individuals with signs saying "Thank You!" and the year they were diagnosed with MS. I got really choked up seeing them. I'm so glad we took the time out of our day to donate our time and money to this great cause.

St. Patrick's Day

I decided it was about time I did something special for a holiday other than Christmas. So for St. Patrick's Day, Sydney and I made cupcakes with green frosting.

Tasting our efforts

Syndey's friend Ezra was over for the fun.

We thought it would be fun if we hid them from Nick and when he got home he could search for the surprise.

I tried teaching Sydney how to play the Hot/Cold game. That didn't quite work out. When Nick came in the front door and I asked Sydney if Daddy was Cold and far away or Hot and close to the surprise. She shouted "COLD!" then ran to where the cupcakes were hiding and said "Here they are!"

It was a lot of fun!

Birthdays continued...

Sydney turned 3 this year and she had a "Princess" Birthday. Just about everything she wanted and received was Disney Princesses. She is a princess all the way! We love her so much!

Nick's Birthday was the day after Sydney's and unfortunately he was sick on his birthday. So we did not do a thing on his birthday. He spent the whole day sleeping and watching movies. He had already purchased "Rock Band 2" for his gift, so he didn't even have anything to open. Needless to say, I felt like a really lame wife. We're hoping to do something special when we get our tax return to make up for it.

And finally it was My Birthday. Nick surprised me with all my gifts. He gave me some really cute square dishes with bamboo place mats, a cute brown skirt and the movie "Runaway Bride" (which I love).

What a sweet guy :)

That ends the birthdays for our family this year. 4 within a months time is tiring and expensive. Now to start saving for next year :)

There's lots to read and view on the Rak Attack blog this time. We've been really busy with a lot of things and have 3 more birthdays to celebrate this month. So keep scrolling down for all the recent events and check back soon for more fun :)

Zoe's ONE!

Our little Zoe turned one on February 19th. Time has just flown by, and she seems too little to be one already (I swear Sydney was bigger at one). We just love our happy, loving Zoe. She has brought so much joy to our home. Here are some pictures of the all the birthday fun...

Birthday with just the family, at home.

Birthday fun with the extended family...

That little cake was my first attempt at something other than a 9 X 13 pan cake.  I felt like it turned out good.  Zoe didn't really think much of it though...

She ate a little but in the end she needed to have help eating it from Sydney and her cousins, Ashton and Tate.

Zoe opening her presents.

The "kids" having a balloon fight. Brad's a kid at heart :)

Syndey wishing she was the Birthday Girl.

Maggie's in the back and Gavin and Emma are in the chair with Sydney.

One of Zoe's favorite games, Guitar Hero :)  (She really does like to play the drums.)  Jason and Gavin are playing the drums and Julienne is at the guitar.

Here we have Brad on vocals, Matt playing the guitar, and Eric rocking out on the drums.

We love you Zoe!

Adenotonsillectomy

Sydney had to have her tonsils and adenoids removed last weekend. The doctor said they were HUGE! She had obstructive sleep apnea due to their large size, which caused her to gasp for air while sleeping. We decided that having them removed was a better option, long term, than to have to give her medication for an extended period of time, which would not solve the problem. The surgery was done at Primary Children's Hospital, and I must say... THEY ARE AMAZING THERE!!! Sydney does much better if she is prepped for what's coming. The hospital had a pre-surgery class where they take the children aside and explain exactly what's going to happen during their stay in the hospital. Then they take the kids, along with their parents, for a tour of all the areas that the child will see on the day of their surgery. Sydney really enjoyed this and could hardly wait for her wagon ride. The class also helped to calm my nerves.

Sydney was such a trooper on the day of her surgery. She could only have clear liquids since midnight the night before and wasn't even allowed the liquids after 8:15 am. The surgery was originally set for 11:10am, but things got pushed back and she didn't get in until after 1pm.

Here we are waiting to go to the exam room

Sydney in her hospital clothes. Aren't those adorable :)

In this room we waited about 2 hours for Sydney to be called back for surgery. In the above picture, nurse Kym was going over the details of the surgery with Sydney again. She was so sweet to Sydney, and even walked with her back to the surgery room and stayed with her until she went to sleep (not everyone was so lucky). It was just what Sydney needed.

Sydney got another "buddy" to take back with her to the surgery room. They give each child one of these dolls that's wearing a hospital gown. Then they let the kids draw a face on it, check it's temperature, use a stethoscope, and check it's blood pressure.

So cute!

Sydney using up time, driving around the waiting room.

Here is Sydney heading back to surgery in her "green" wagon. She kept telling everyone that she needed a green wagon. That was the anathesiologist pulling the wagon and nurse Kym following behind.

This is where I was left behind. It was all I could do to not cry. I was so worried for Sydney, because she had no idea what was about to happen. I knew they went over everything in the class and stuff... but she's not even 3 yet. How much could she really know? Nick really wanted to be there with Sydney and me, but was unable to get off work. Luckily I had my sister Michelle there with me. It was nice to have someone there for a distraction. Apparently when they tried to give Sydney the gas to put her "under", the smelly part wouldn't open and that's when Sydney got really scared. The nurse said her eyes got really big and teary and she said "I just want my Mommy". Heart breaking. Sydney was in surgery for only 20 minutes, and everything went great. Waking up was a different story. Sydney was scared and had a really hard time calming down. Finally we were able to give her some pain medication and get a movie going for her and she calmed right down.

In each room they have pictures painted on the ceiling tiles. Sydney's room had a beaver and a frog.

Sydney enjoying some chocolate pudding

Sydney had lots of loving visitors who brought her get well gifts. The picture above is Sydney with the dolls that her cousin Caleb, Aunt Emilie and Uncle Matt gave her.

And this is Sydney ready to go home. She was really drugged up here. Just before we took this picture, Sydney was drinking some apple juice while watching a movie. All of a sudden she started laughing and I asked what was so funny... thinking it was something in the movie. Sydney lifted her finger and laughing said "My finger". She had put her finger in her juice.

Gotta love the Lortab :)

The recovery at home hasn't been very fun for anyone. The Lortab caused some unwanted behavior changes in Sydney and we have since changed her medication. Things have gotten better, but there's still room for improvement. Hopefully by the end of this week Sydney will be back to her young self again.

Happy Anniversary!!!

February 7th was mine and Nick's 5 year Anniversary! We were fortunate to spend the day with Nick's family. Nick's cousin Tyler was sealed to his wife, Charlene and daughter, Meadow in the St. George Temple. We loved being in the Temple with them to share their special day. And what better way to celebrate our anniversary then to be in the sealing room and remember the covenants we've made to each other and our Heavenly Father. It was a great day! I'm extremely blessed to be married to Nick. He provides so much for our family. Here are a few reason's I adore my wonderful husband:

- He makes me laugh all the time. Nick is so random, and says the funniest things. He's always catching me off guard.
- His excitement over music. Nick loves music and gets so excited over a newly found song. He is amazing at finding unheard of bands that play great music.
- His willingness to try new things. Nick's not afraid to try something new, at least once.
- His ability to quote a movie, song, or anything really, word for word. I always botch quotes!
- His love for me and our daughters. I'm so blessed to be married to Nick!

The last 5 years have been incredible! Here's to another wonderful 5 years!

It's been a while...

I'm out of the blogging habit. So maybe I can get a few posts in this weekend :) But for now, I thought I'd share some funny things that Sydney has said the past few weeks.

A LION, Mommy! A LION!!!

Last Saturday we went to a Birthday lunch for a friend of ours at Tucanos Brazilian Grill. Mmmm, all you can eat meat! I loved it! Anyways... While we were finishing up our meal, Sydney was standing on the bench, peeking over the the wall to see what was going on in the other part of the restaurant. All of a sudden she starts yelling, "A LION, Mommy! A LION!!!!" I was in the middle of a conversation, so I didn't respond immediately. She had to have yelled it at least 5 times. When she finally got my full attention, I peeked over the wall and saw a woman who look just like a lion! I could hardly believe it. Let me describe her... She was oriental, with a LOT of gold make-up; gold-ish blond hair, styled in a full-on mullet. The top of the mullet was all an even length, about 3-4 inches and was styled just like the lion in the picture above, and the back part had to have been 10-12 inches long. She was a REAL lion, at least to Sydney. Luckily it was so loud in the restaurant, that I don't think she heard Sydney calling her a lion. It was so funny. We were laughing so hard, it hurt. Sydney still talks about the "scary" lion at the restaurant.

Hanging with the big guys.

The other day Sydney told me she wanted to watch a movie with Zoe, Jesus, and Santa. They were going to eat chicken, broccoli, and yogurt. Then she made it VERY clear that I wasn't invited. I'm really glad that Jesus made the list :)

Date night.

I'm not sure where Sydney got the idea, but she thinks whenever Nick and I go on a date it means we are going to the beach. For instance, Nick and I are going to the Draper Temple openhouse tonight with some friends. Sydney and Zoe are going to Grandma and Grandpa's. I told Sydney that Grandma is really excited that Sydney is going to her house tonight, while mommy and daddy go on a date. Sydney replied, "Yesth, and Mommy and Daddy going to leave. And go to the beach, and walk on the beach with their toes. No shoes, just toes." She had to have gotten this idea from one of the movies she's watched, because we've never taken her to the beach. Awe, I love this girl!!!

We're loving the snow!!!

Sydney and I have loved playing in the snow these past few days. Today we decided to make a snowman. Sydney did such a great job. Enjoy the pictures of the fun...

Please Help!!!

I need some help in finding a quality toy train for Santa to bring to Sydney this Christmas. All she says she wants for Christmas is... "a train where the kids get out". Is there such toy out there for an almost 3 year old. I found a "Little People" train set but it almost seems too young for her. Are those wooden train sets fun/worth getting? Any input would be greatly appreciated.

**UPDATE**

False alarm. Sydney had been asking for "a train where the kids get off " all day, everyday for about a week straight. Now (just within the last 10 minutes) she's back to wanting a pink computer. Ahh!!! Kids can be so stressful sometimes. She's probably too young to realize Santa didn't bring her what she asked for anyways. Well, maybe not. The nice thing about her changing her mind is, I don't have to track down one of those Geo Trax sets. They are sold out everywhere, even online.

Christmas Treats

Sydney and I made some treats for a Christmas party the other night. She was so proud of herself for being able to dip the peanut butter ball into the chocolate. I love her so much!

Zoe's finally on the move!

Zoe finally started crawling last Sunday! She so silly too. She'll cry/moan while she crawls toward me. It's like she saying "I can't believe you're making me do all this work! Help a kid out, here."

Thanksgiving

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving this year at my family's cabin. Unfortunately I didn't take many pictures of all the fun. Dinner was great as always, and the games were a ton of fun. Sydney loved being with her cousins at the cabin. Before we left, she would tell me over and over that we were going to the cabin and she was going to play on the "little" stairs. There are three stairs coming down from the kitchen into the main room that she loves to jump off of. We also had a competitive ping pong tournament that my brother Matt won. Ping pong is a big thing in my family, and something I have not excelled at. Here are the few pictures I took.

Zoe's First Thanksgiving

The die-hard 3-wheeler riders

Sydney, Ashton, and Tate.

Caleb would have been there but he was taking a nap.

The next morning at 3:30am, Nick and I attempted the Black Friday sales for our first time. We didn't have anything big that we were looking for, therefore we weren't too stressed. It was really funny to see how serious people were about getting what they wanted. Our first stop was Shopko and we waited outside in line for about 45 minutes. When we got in the store, I saw a big crowd of people grabbing this certain item, I won't say what it was because we are giving it to someone who reads this blog :) Anyways, I saw everyone grabbing this item and thought to myself, "That must be a GREAT deal! I should grab some." So I grabbed two. In the end we only kept one. But the rack was empty in 30 seconds. It was so funny. Our plan originally was to go to Toys R Us first, but the parking lot was packed and the street was lined with parked cars. We went back an hour or so after it opened to take a look, and that place was insane! I couldn't believe how many people were there and how full everyone's carts were. We hit a few other stores, and got some killer deals on movies at Wal-Mart. By 8am we were all done and very tired. I had a good time doing this, and I'm pretty sure Nick and I will do it again next year. I won't be attempting Toys R Us though. That was a nut house!