What is graduation season without some graduation pictures? Here are some from Benjamin's Joy School Graduation. Most are blurry-- probably because I was holding a fussing Jacob who was trying to grab the camera as I was taking them. Oh well. We are now the proud parents of a Joy School Graduate! My baby is growing up!
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We celebrated our 7th anniversary almost two weeks ago, but Picassa wasn't working when I tried to upload the pics, so here they are-- better late than never. We celebrated during the day by taking the boys to what I envisioned as a beautiful lake nestled in the mountains. Well, it wasn't exactly all that I had hoped for, but it was still fun. The boys made a sand castle and we had a "romantic" picnic on the beach with fancy cheeses, hummus, and sparkling pommegranite juice. Unfortunately, about an hour and a half after we got there we were asked to leave so that the construction crews that arrived shortly after we did could make a nice beach. Too bad. Oh well. Brigham started his last rotation of his intern year this week. He is now in the Trama/Surgical ICU. I hope he still recognizes us when it's all over. It makes my blood boil to see what they can get away with when it comes to overworking residents!
About now, Kim will be mourning the fact that he has to come home in 2 days after a glorious week of ATV riding/ and arrowhead hunting. I think we need to collectively send our strenght to Kim via mental telepathy (or something) to help him to overcome the adversity which is surely coming into his life to return to life in the real world. It has always been a hard transition for him. Course it is supposed to be 90 degrees down there this Sunday...maybe that will help! COME HOME HONEY! I NEED YOU! (To fix the sprinklers, work in the basement, help me with my computer projects.....) J/K!!! Now you know why he doesn't want to come home!
Food, glorious food! This past week I purchased some Cherries. They were 1/2 off, so I could splurge on them. I tell you, if I lost my job, I bet I could make some good money picking cherries - they're regularly like $8 per pound. I haven't had cherries since we used to pick them while riding the swings at Grandma & Grandpa's house. There's something about a fresh cherry's flavor that is never matched elsewhere. We also had my hometeachees over for dinner on Memorial Day. I made Manicotti. It's not your traditional Memorial Day meal, but it works. I did something I've never done before with it. I put two on each plate, sprinkled them with real Parmesan cheese, and put a spring of parsley on top. It made it look all gourmet. I was impressed with myself. Erica was impressed too, so I was that much more impressed with myself. Erica's latest favorite food has been Ramen noodles. I feel bad for her. Food's good.
Kiera has a bad cold and fever right now and has been sleeping very poorly for the past 2 nights since she can't breathe through her nose when she sleeps on her stomach. Last night I put her in the bed with us in hopes that she'd spend more time sleeping on her back and sleep a little better. Well she woke up about a half hour later a realilzed where she was. And what was the first thing she did? She went over and showered her daddy with kisses (5 or 6 kisses) and said "dada!" so sweetly. Never mind the fact that I've been the one holding her while she slept for the past hour and putting up with her fussiness for 2 days! That little lady loves her daddy.
I was talking to Cambrie yesterday, about food storage. I have been wanting to get some more rice in our food storage for awhile...especially the way the prices are going up, I wanted to get more before it is way inflated. I have been watching to find it in the large bags, and haven't had any luck with either Costco or the Lindon Cannery. It's been one of those things that you just had to be there WHEN the store opened, for those occasional days that the were able to get some (and they didn't know when that would be) so I have been frustrated. Compounding the problem was the fact that Kim only likes the shorter grain rice (what they use in Japan), and I hadn't even seen any of that in large bags in years. Well, friday, we stopped at Maceys in Orem. We were able to find some in 5 lb bags, and that was all they had. Saturday, Kim was heading to PG for some needed gas etc for the trip he left on today....so I decided to come along, and see if by chance they would h...
OK! A couple of someones in So California could have mentioned about the tornado that hit Riverside yesterday....I mean it is close! When I was down there and needed to go find a doctor, that is where I went. It is where BJ went to school for awhile. Don't you people even notice news of a tornado that was 15 miles or so from your place? That must have happened at the same time that the Nelsons got the downpour. Well, I am glad it only proved to be entertaining to your little lady! We got the same storm here....well, at least MOST of Utah got a good soaking the last couple of days. But the storm came in from the North, and usually when that happens, It seems to funnel through the gap at the point of the mountain and drench Lehi and points south of there. On one of those days Spanish Fork got .97 inches in less than a day, and PG got .02 inches. We barely got enough to get the sidewalk wet about 3 times, and then it would stop. But hey, I am not going to complain...the same s...
At approximately 9:49 am yesterday there was a breaking and entering into Benjamin's room. The crime scene was found in great disarray, with Benjamin's possesions scattered carelessly about the room. At this time the investigation has not revealed that anything is missing, although with all the mess it is hard to determine. The only clue left at the scene of the crime was a discarded diaper. Authorities later apprehended a suspect not far from the scene of the crime who was shockingly bare posteriorly. Even after a night behind bars, so far the suspect refuses to talk...
We are beginning to think it will be worth the sacrifice to the community to have a Walmart here. With the cost of gas going berzerk, it will be nice to have a place we can walk to if we want to buy our necessities. The Walmart is under construction. ..yesterday they had the framing for it there. It certainly will be a mixed blessing to us though. This is such a nice community, I hope it doesn't totally ruin it! I keep hearing new nasty reports on gas likely being up to $ 6.00/gallon by the end of the summer. This worries us...we don't see our out of state kids as much as we would like to anyway, and this will only make it more difficult...at least until you're done with your residency/being in school, so that you will be rich enough to fly! Or better yet, move home to Utah! And I am becoming more and more grateful for my Prius! I really think that the govt. needs to get wise and give some tax refunds or kickbacks in using the HOV lane for FREE (yes, we can use it, bu...
This blog is in despirate need of a new post so since you left it up to me you'll have to hear about the trivial things in my life. 1. Today I am officially the same weight that I was when I went into the hospital to give birth to Kiera . (and I'm only 24 weeks pregnant which means this baby weighs about 1.5 lbs) Ouch. 2. I sat down with a calculator today and added up all of the medical bills from this pregnancy thus far. The total was $97,458.00 and we've only had to pay about $500 of that since we have good insurance. 3. Today buff came over to see her cute niece. Buff and I sat outside gabbing while Kiera played in the kiddie pool. Kiera caught our attention mid conversation when she said "uh-oh" 4 times each time getting louder. She was standing in the water and she looked down between her legs and said "uh-oh!" as the water beneath her became yellow. Hey, at least she recognizes when she is going now.... maybe that is a step towards...
A cowboy walks into a bar and orders a whisky. When the bartender delivers the drink, the cowboy asks, "Where is everybody?" The bartender replies, "They've gone to the hanging." "Hanging? Who are they hanging?" "Brown Paper Pete," the bartender replied. "What kind of a name is that?" the cowboy asked. "Well," says the bartender. "He wears a brown paper hat, brown paper shirt, brown paper trousers and brown paper shoes." "How bizarre," said the cowboy. "What are they hanging him for?" "Rustling," said the bartender.
A milestone was reached today . I declared 1/2 of the basement room "done enough" and we moved all the junk from the north side of the room (unfinished) to the south side of the room. I still have to re-run the lights and put in a window sill but like I said...done enough. I wanna see if I can get the other side of the room done or close to it by Brett's wedding. Feels like starting over..........
Yesterday Jacob had his big ECEP evaluation , which consisted of a team (a pediatrician, a speech pathologist, a physical therapist, and a psychologist) all observing him to try to get a feel for where he is. The results were kind of surprising to me because I thought he was a little further along in his skills, but he scored a developmental age of about 10 months except for speech/language, where he scored 7-8 months. The thing that really surprised me is that the test results put him on the autism spectrum. That is kind of a hard thing to understand-- it doesn't mean that he HAS autism, just that he exhibits a number of behaviors (slow language development, trouble with large groups of people, repetitive behaviors, etc.) that put him on the lower end of the spectrum. The good news is that that qualifies him for an even more specialized preschool program that will work intensively with him in ways that have been proven to help those with autism. So Jacob will be off to school...
Dear Future In-Laws~ My sister, Ali, is thinking of throwing Brett and I a camping themed bridal shower with the fam. We did this in the past for her own wedding, and we actually threw a "couple's shower" and everyone came (including all the men folk). I'm not sure if that's exactly what we'll be doing this time around, but I'd like to get as many of us together as possible. I have a sister in CA too, so it wouldn't be until right before the wedding. I was just wondering if any of you were interested, and if so, what day (probably either July 17 or 18) would work for you. Brett and I have also discussed the possibility of having a cheesecake decorating party at the same time. Let us know what you think... It's going to be a busy time, but I think it would be a lot of fun to get together.
This morning I took Kiera to an outdoor children's fair, and afterwards we went to playgroup at the park. It was in the 90's so nobody showed up for playgroup. So I said "Kiera, let's go home-- it's hot". She immediately started blowing (we always blow on food when I say "it's hot"). It was cute. Now whenever I say "it's hot" she starts blowing. Good thing I have Kiera for an air conditioner
Buff's picture reminded me of a story: I'm not usually one to make trouble or start a fight but one time I unintentionally started a doozy of a knock down, drag out fight. I was minding my own business one day driving down the street just looking at the scenery and not paying much attention. There was a car stopped at a stop sign ahead of me signal indicating it was making a right turn. I also was making a right turn and I stopped behind this car. It started to go so I looked left to make sure no cars were coming, which they weren't and stepped on the gas. Well I hadn't noticed that the car hadn't gone but stopped again and I ran smack dab into the back of it. The driver opens his door and steps out and it's this little guy, probably about 4 feet tall that has all the characteristics of a midget. I could tell he was angry as he walked back to my car. I rolled down the window and he put his fists on his hips and said "I'm not happy!" to whi...
Hello family, i guess it's that time again . Time to update you all on what has been going on in my exciting life. Well a couple of weekends ago, I got to go see the Music Man and then go to disneyland in the same weekend for Free! For the most part, it was really fun but the last part of disneyland was kind of spoiled by my crazy roommate who went with. But in other news, she has moved out so that is very good. She's going into the army on the 18th and she was driving the 3 of us that are remaining in the apt. crazy...she still kind of is to an extent but at least she's not living here anymore. Well my life just got really busy recently. I have to go to school for 28 hours a week and then, as part of my program, I am required to work at least 32 hours a week as a CNA while I'm in school. And then I sleep for 56 hours a week and have to study for at least another 14 so, regardless to say, that doesn't give me much time to do much of anything else. I do love my new j...
I know you were all curious so here's what's going on in my world... Marriage stuff. Yep. Katie and I actually signed up to live at Wymount online yesterday. 1st floor 1 bedroom apartment on the south west side close to University Parkway. We got it about a week ahead of the wedding so we can move stuff into it. We went with Katie's uncle a little while ago to Salt Lake City and got some pictures of our beautiful selves . He's a photographer who usually does more nature scene photography, but he was very nice and offered to take pictures of us. I'm very happy with the results. We got some good pictures. I put together a little announcement of sorts. I think we like it enough we're going to use it -- with a couple of alterations. We started to register at Target... I'm Not sure that we'll be using that registry at all. I wasn't impressed with their a-bit-thicker-than-tin-foil cookie sheets. I need good cookie sheets dangit. I figure that if we'r...
Happy Mother's Day to Mom! I say ditto to what Cambrie wrote. You deserve to have a fantastic day-- I hope it is as good as mine has been. (I have been pampered by Brigham and adored by Benjamin who drew me 3 pictures, made me a card, and wrapped up three of his books for me-- You are Special, You are Priceless, and a book with a beach in it because I love the beach. Oh that Mother's Day were every day-- or at least once a month!) I hope you got your package and that you like it!
I just wanted to wish mom a happy mothers day and thank her for carrying me around for 9 months (while being nauseated 9 months), and then giving birth to me (without an epidural), and then breastfeeding me every 2 hours, and then......etc.. Thanks mom. I'm learning what a sacrifice motherhood is. Cambrie
Kim is busily printing out the last months worth of blog entrys for the history of our family. BJ, we are STILL missing out on your life! For those of you that haven't checked out Cambries blog, there are some DARLING new pictures of Kiera....only problem is, because you haven't put them on our blog, they won't be in the Groneman blog book. That is tragic, because they are so darn CUTE! Happy mothers day to Christa, Cambrie and Erica! Thanks for the sacrifices you are making and have made to be really great mothers! Your children are very blessed to have mothers like you! And that makes me very happy to know that my grandchildren couldn't be cared for by any better parents than they have! Thanks for all you do!
We have told some of you about our new favorite show-- Extreme Makeover Home Edition. Last night we noticed that our favorite episode is online again. You should all check it out. Go to www.abc.go.com and click on "Extreme Makeover Home Edition". Then check out the Hughes Family episode. You'll see why it's our favorite! PS-- Mom, there is an Amazon box coming for you from all of us kids for Mother's Day. So don't open it until Sunday!
Just had to add 2 pictures to the blog. Kiera is a little more clingy in needy at home now that we are back in California. She doesn't have 3 big people who are willing to play with her constantly anymore. Poor Kiera misses being in Utah. The other picture is just to show you the mess mom and I made as we were organizing all of the toys from the attic for the future toy room. It was a walk down memory lane, and it was a pain! But, hopefully all of our young'ins will benifit from our efforts.
Went to my GI doctor today. Everything is great. He used the stuff they use to freeze warts off to freeze the edges of my tube site to reduce scarring. It isn't exactly a comfortable thing to have done and I'm sure I was flexing my abdominal muscles and holding my breath a bit. Baby did NOT like having it done though. She kicked and kicked! My doctor also emailed me a copy of the abstract they have (so far) for the case study they are submitting this fall on me. For anybody who care to read it: The Use of Percutaneous Endoscopic Gastrostomy for Nutrition Support in Pregnancy Associated with Hyperemesis Gravidarum Matthew Tsushima, MD, Deborah Anghesom, MD, Michael Walter, MD, Snorri Olafsson, MD Loma Linda University Medical Center Hyperemesis gravidarum is a severe form of nausea and vomiting that occurs during pregnancy. We report the use of percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy for nutrition support in a patient with hyperemesis gravidarum. A 25 year old G2P1 Cauca...
BRAINBASHERS COMMON ANSWERS - April Chad married a unique girl. :-) Breanna didn't enter so SOMEONE had to be the most unique. 133 Brett Groneman 1 1 2 1 2 2 7 1 1 1 3.9242% 152 Kim Groneman 1 1 2 1 2 10 2 1 1 1 3.1926% 154 Cambrie Nelson 1 1 4 2 2 1 1 2 1 1 3.1604% 260 Christa Dastrup 1 1 1 5 1 6 2 1 1 2 1.2509% 288 Steven Nelson 1 1 2 1 2 2 3 1 1 4 1.0377% 329 Chad Groneman 1 1 4 5 6 1 3 1 1 1 0.7156% 2382 Erica Groneman 1 1 3 6 UR 12 34 1 2 2 Be sure to enter the MAY contest HERE
NELSON BABY GUESS CHART Don't add comments, instead EDIT this post and enter your guess as to the date/time the Nelson baby girl will arrive. If you don't have your guess in by Friday May 9th, it doesn't count. You can change your guess any time up until then when it gets printed. Gramps: September 1st, 4:00 PM, 6 lbs 12 oz. Grandma: Aug 28, 2am, 7 lbs 5ounces, and 19" in length Christa:August 27th, 7 lbs. 10 oz., 19 inches, GIRL, human. Brigham: Chad: 3:52 P.M., on the Third day of September, 2008. Weighing 7 lbs 6 oz. Erica: August 27, 9:00 AM, 7 lbs, 0 oz. Girl. Cambrie: August 29th 7pm, 7 lbs 8 oz Steve: Brett: Katie: Breanna: Benjamin: Jacob: Kiera: August 30th 6pm 7 lbs 1 oz
Gramps is sad. It's just not fair that my cute little grandkids are growing up, playing, and being cute and I can't see them every weekend. Just not fair at all. I will miss my sweet little Kiera. She ran to me with open arms when her mom was chasing her playing tiger. She turned to me for comfort when big mean uncle Chad came into the room. She came and gave me a big loud slobbery kiss. Her little fingers wrapped around my big finger as she drank her milk before being put down to bed for the last time at Grandma's house. I love that little lady and will miss her and her mom greatly.
Yesterday was a landmark day for the Dastrups. "Why?" you ask. Because we were able to take Jacob hiking for the first time without him crying the ENTIRE hike as he did on our last two attempts! It was wonderful. We went to Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument, which is only about 45 min. from our house. There are some cool rock formations that look like upside-down ice-cream cones (or tee-pees) that I've never seen before that were supposedly formed by volcanic vents. We hiked through some slot canyons and really enjoyed ourselves. During our whole 2+ hour hike, JD only required about 15 minutes of Baby Einstein towards the end to stay happy. Success!
CAUGHT RED HANDED!!! (PICTURE TO RIGHT) We are having all kinds of fun with little Kiera and her momma! We just got home from our trip to Thanksgiving Points farm animals. She was fun to watch! Mostly she just liked putting around checking out the different scenery, but she did get well enough acquainted with the animals that she had a new interest in farm animals when we left the place. Before we left, there was a table with some farm animal toys that kids could play with. We let her play with them for awhile, and then we said, "Ok, Kiera! Let's go!~" She promptly proceeded to gather up all of the animals and started to walk towards the door.... Yessireee, Cambrie and Steve are training that little girl early! ;) Also, you will have to watch the movie that we took of Kiera with her first snow experience the other day! It is great! I will have to leave that to Kim or Cambrie to add, I don't know how....but she had already touched the snow with her hands and di...