Jason Got A Trophy!

Racing season came to a close on Saturday night. Jason started racing in the middle of the season. I was not fond of the idea....and I still am not....but I try to be a supportive wife. Jason ran in the Wissota Super Stock class. Here in Rock Springs there are only about 5 cars in the class so not a lot of competition, but he still had a lot of fun. He got a trophy for "Super Stock Rookie of the Year".

Kaden Cast Came off

So, Kaden's three weeks in his cast were up last Thursday, so we went back to the Dr. and took X-rays. His arm looked good.....not completely healed...so now he has to be in a split for 2 weeks. In two weeks we will go back for another x-ray. He starts pre-school in a week and a half, so it looks like he will have to start pre-school in a splint. It hasn't seemed to slow him down at all. We had a little misshap with the first cast. On the second day that he had it, it was a Saturday morning, he took a shower and the bag that we put around it filled with water. So, the cast got soaked. Monday morning we took him to get a new cast. They cut off his old cast and put on a new one.....this time it was a water proof one. That is the way to go with a 3 year old. They should have put a water proof one on in the first place!

Kaden's bad week!

Well it has been a long week for Kaden. It all started last Friday when he had to have surgery. I won't go into details about his surgery, but for those of you who want to google it, he had a meatotomy. He is doing good from that surgery. Today...not even a week later he broke his arm and now he is in a cast for 3 weeks! Poor little guy! It has been a bad week for him!

New Pictures of the Boys

I just got some really cute new pictures of the boys! A friend of mine did them...and they turned out so cute. I thought she did a great job capturing the boys personalities in these. When I have pictures taken in a studio...they just don't seem to turn out right....they don't seem to look like my boys...but these sure did! Check out her website http://imaginyouphotographydesign.com

The Metz

Chandler has been playing baseball this season. Last year he played T-ball....this year it is baseball. He is on the the Metz. It is really cute watching kids this age play baseball. Most of them don't have an attention span long enough to play....they can't seem to concentrate on what it going on in the game. Most of the time you will find the out-fielders playing in the dirt...digging a hole....spinning in circles....whatever they can find to do to entertain them selves until they bat again! They seem to have fun though! Here are a few pictures that my mother in law took of him last week. The last two are of Kaden that she took at the baseball game.

Vacation Pictures

I created a slide show with just a few of my favorite pictures from our vacation! We had a lot of fun. We saw a lot of things and went a lot of places!

"Call Me Kaden"

I have always had nick names for my kids. Since Chandler was about a year old, I have called him Scooby. I don't know why....but one day it just stuck, so still today, almost 7 years later, I still call him Scooby. Kaden has had two different nick names; K.D. and Peter. Now I don't know why I call him Peter, but I do. Sometimes it is Peter Pan or Peter Cotton Tail...... but usually just Peter. Well, about three days ago, Kaden decided that he didn't like nicknames. He said to " just call me Kaden." So now everytime that i call him by something other then Kaden......he reminds me to "call me Kaden." It has been very hard for me to call him Kaden, but I guess that is the name we gave him, so we should call him that.

We are getting ready for vacation!

So.....we are getting ready to head off to California. We are leaving on April 6th to Salt Lake City and then flying to California. We will be there for a week and we are planning to go to San Diego Zoo, Sea World, Disneyland, California Adventures, Los Angeles, Hollywood, Legoland, and anything else we can fit in! We are meeting up with my sister and her family in San Diego and they will be there for part of the time that we are there! It is going to be alot of fun and we will post pictures when we get back. Pray for us that we have good traveling weather!

I am a Bachelor-aholic!

Hello.......My name is Mindy.......and I am a Bachelor-aholic........ So, I have never really been obsessed with TV shows before.....but I have been obsessed with The Bachelor this season......and ever since it ended, I feel like I have been stocking the bachelor! I have found his MySpace page, his Facebook page and different websites about him! I have even recorded the Ellen show (which I have really enjoyed, I don't usually get to watch it) just because this week him and molly, and Melissa have been on there! This is so unlike me to be obsessed with something like this.....but I am so intrigued by him! So......I just had to admit it to everyone! My name is Mindy......and I am a Bachelor-aholic!

Chandlers First Valentines Day Crush!

We went to the store to buy valentines for Chandlers class. I told him that we were going to get them for his class and with a sweet look on his face he asks "and one for Payton?" It was so sweet! So I said yes...."you can get one for Payton." He starts looking at all the Valentine stuff and he finds what he wants to get her. A really...really big heart shaped box of chocolates with lace and roses on it. I convince him that she wouldn't like that and that because I am a girl....I would know what she would like. So.... we end up with a cute little stuffed dog and a small box of chocolates. When we got home he wanted to make her a card. So we got out my stamps and he picked out the stamp he wanted to use.....one that said LOVE. We looked online for an idea....once he found one.....he got to work.....with my assistance. He made her a cute card. We put the gift in a bag....and it was ready to go. Now all he had to do was give it to her! This wasn't an easy task....as every time you ask him about Payton.....he hides because he is so embarrassed about it. So....Friday morning comes and he is going to give her the gift before school. His dad took him to school that morning and as soon as he saw Payton.....he wouldn't get out of the truck. His dad had to drag him out of the truck and to Payton. His aunt Sheree' had to take his arm......stretch it out and make him hand the gift to Payton.....who was playing shy also and was hiding behind her mom! So.... he was so excited to give it to her....until he actually had to do it, but he gave it to her.....and the three of them (Payton has a twin brother who Chandler is friends with) ran off to play. My little boys first crush! It is just so cute. Time flies!!! Pretty soon I will be writing about his first date!

More on Leroy

I wanted to add this to my last post on Leroy. This was written by my mother-in-law......Leroy's lucky owner. Please forward this blog to anyone you know that has a pet. I feel that our experience could help save some pets and also save some owners heartaches in the future!

I've been giving this thing a whole lot of thought...and I think that our little Leroy's death should serve a purpose so I want to add a couple of things to your blog:

When you choose the vet you are taking your pet to, make sure they are taking the time to make your pet feel comfortable. (One of the ladies told me that Leroy put up a hell of a fight when they took him back for surgery. She even suggested that maybe his adrenaline rush contributed to his demise (but she was not a vet and they never gave me an explanation for why this happened)so it is just supposition. I just keep thinking that if they had known Leroy the way we do, they would have been more loving toward him.

Second, make sure the vet isn't running pets through one after the other on surgery day. I felt like I was taking him to some kind of conveyer belt surgery. The doctor didn't even bother to speak to me before he was taken in.

And lastly, if you are treated poorly by tired and grouchy staff, realize that this may be a reflection of the general attitude in the facility. When I go to any organization, if there is drama, it is usually related to management issues. Too much work, not enough pay, office gossip, etc. Hostile work environments lead to burnout...and poor customer care. I think when I find environments like this, regardless of the service they provide, it is better to go somewhere else.

I forgive the folks at the clinic...I am certain that this was just a tragic accident; but I don't know that I will ever forgive them for sending Leroy home in critical condition. No doggie parent should ever have to watch their beloved pet suffer like that...if they can't provide critical care, they need to have easy access to someone that does or stop doing surgery. Giving a pet owner the choice of leaving him at the clinic without supervision (no one to take care of him....just leave him all alone all night long) or try to transport him ourselves to SLC (a three hour drive that he may not have survived) is no choice at all. Talk about a complete lack of empathy...wow.

The Un-thinkable Happens!

LEROY

It is a sad day for us here....we lost a 4 legged member of our family last night. He was loved alot around here.

Leroy was a 6 month old black lab that Jason adopted from animal control to be a hunting dog. It was justs to much here with three dogs so we convinced Jason's mom to foster/adopt him. Well....he slowly became less of a hunting dog and more of a spoiled house dog....but he was loved alot by all of us. He spent most of his time with Lisa, but when she was traveling he would stay here with us.

He went in for a routine neuter on wednesday.....and his heart stopped. They got his heart started again and he started breathing again....but he couldn't do much else. We didn't know that this could happen to a dog during a spay or neuter....if we would, we probably wouldn't have done it. Also, for those who are reading this and are in Rock Springs, this all happened at Desertview Animal Hospital. To add insault to injury....everyone (except one girl) was rude and very uncaring. He needed 24 hour care as he couldn't do anything but lay there and breath and they wouldn't stay with him. They made Lisa take him home and watch him all night then bring him back the next day. No one should have to see their family memeber like this, let alone be responsible for taking care of him, because the hospital doesn't want to. He spent two days and almost two nights like this but he just couldn't fight anymore.

We have all decided not to ever return to this vet, we would rather take our animals to SLC then to be treated the way we were. So, think next time before you take your animal in for a routine procedure......things can happen.....and quite possibly....no one there will care!

I NEED HELP!

I'm thinking of taking my family on vacation over spring break to Disneyland and San Diego. Does anyone have any tips on vacations to these spots? I'm trying to plan this vacation but the more that I research on the internet the more I feel that we need to live there for about a month to see everything! So....instead of moving there for a month I thought I would see if anyone has any tips for me!