Dolphin Dash...

We all got up early on Saturday morning for the Dolphin Dash! So fun to see these boys get so excited about running... and they did great!

Elliott just took off and ran as fast as he could... right through the finish line and up the street... giving Aunite Jen a heart-attack when she couldn't find him for a few seconds! Yikes!! At least Etta and I got a metal for crossing the finish line while trying to find Elliott. Haha!

Luke was very fast too! Such great little athletes!

Busy Friday...

We had several fun, busy days during my visit, but Friday was especially so....
- Playdough time
- School
- Lunch with Michelle
- Karate
- The Lion King
And up early the next morning for the Dolphin Dash!

I am not very creative with my playdough.... Haha!
I loved taking Elliott to Karate... that was so fun for me. He did a great job!

The Lion King was so fun! The boys were totally enthralled with it, and just on the edges of their seats most of the time. So fun! The boys really had no interest in getting a photo, so this was the best I could do... Haha!

Quick visit to Mandy's

On the first day of my babysitting adventure, after dropping Elliott off at school a half hour late (terrible... I know!!) , I went to visit Mandy and the kiddos.

Luke was very excited to show me his metal from the Triathlon and Etta was very excited to show me her metal too (ok... it was Mandy's metal, but I think Etta had taken it over)As you can tell... Luke was very excited to hear all about my surgery.... Haha! And this was just moments after he told us he wasn't tired at all. Cute boy...

Memorial Weekend Graveyard Tour....

During Memorial Weekend, Troy, Colleen and I made our annual tour of the graveyards to take flowers to my Grandparents, Colleen's Parents, Troy's Dad and Colleen's Great Grandmother.

Colleen's Mother and Step-Father are buried very close to Grandma and Grandpa Streiff so we always try to go together and take flowers at the same time.

All of the graves had been visited by other family members as well... there were lots of flowers! :)

Dancing Etta Jane... (with a little help from Elliott)

Slumber Party at "Granny's"

A couple days ago Mandy and I decided that we should take the kids and have a Slumber Party at Mom's house, despite the fact that she and Dad were out of town. Elliott, Luke and Etta Jane were all very excited.... well, Luke and Elliott were at least. :)
One of the highlights was feeding the turtles of course.... this is spike (the bottom turtle in the top photo).... the other six turtles are his brothers, sisters, parents, etc. For those that don't know... Spike came to live in Utah for awhile. He flew back and forth with me a couple times (and drove a time or two as well), but when he got to big to be in a terrarium anymore, he headed back to California to enjoy the turtle haven that is my parents backyard....

According to WebMD.com....

Appendicitis

Appendicitis is an inflammation of the appendix, a 3 1/2-inch-long tube of tissue that extends from the large intestine. No one is absolutely certain what the function of the appendix is. One thing we do know: We can live without it, without apparent consequences.

Well, I certainly hope the part about "living without it, without apparent consequences" is true because as of last week, I am appendix free.

It was not an emergency, but after almost a week of being mildly sick with some minor pain in my side, it was diagnosed that I did in fact have "acute appendicitis" and had to go in for surgery. The surgery went well from what I am told, and Troy took VERY good care of me during the days following my surgery. I have been sore and swollen, but for the most part have been recovering well. :)

About 4 days after surgery, I was wheeled (in a wheelchair) to a plane to fly to Newport so that I could hang out with Elliott for a week while Craig and Carly were out of town. I am afraid that I wasn't much fun to be around for the first couple days, but I think Elliott still enjoyed it. Each day I have been a little better, and I will post some photos from our activities as soon as I can.

In the meantime.... I am doing well without my appendix.... as long as I don't sneeze! That is still quite painful! :)