Father's Day!

We went to visit with my Dad after sacrament on Sunday. We barbecued some chicken and corn on the cob and had a salad to go with it. Mom made a cake and an apple pie. It was a pretty mellow party for a Stanley shin dig but we had a great time visiting. Like the pin my Dad is wearing? Yeah that came from his favorite daughter! We missed James and Tammy and the kids but I love getting together with my family! Uncle Will wasn't feeling to well so we kept the noise level to a dull roar this go around.
The best part of being at Dad's is of course seeing my baby. Bonzo cat! We've had this cat since 1993 if you can believe that! I wonder who made that super cute kitty blanket she's comfy cozy on?.....Oh yeah, it was me!

We headed home about 5:00 PM and this is what the highway between Tombstone and Bisbee looked like. It was smoke from the Monument Fire. Sunday we had 60 MPH wind gusts and this monster of a fire blew up.

The smoke was unbelievable! I think there were 14 homes lost that day and 3 restaurants that I know of. This has been one heck of a fire fight for the fire fighters.

This is what the fire looked like that night! Out of control and huge! We're prepared to evacuate just in case, hopefully it won't come to that.

I can't wait for the monsoons to start. It may be humid and sticky and hot and miserable, but anything is better than this!

Happy Father's Day to all our Dads. We love you guys and hope you had a terrific day!

Father of the year award winner!

This year, for once, I let the girls pick their own gifts for their Dad. I gave no opinions or input, the only thing I did was take them shopping and pay. So what exactly did Dad get this year? Well, Alex gave him a camo Snuggie (just want he wanted believe me), and Sydney got him a pillow pet, the red ladybug he's laying on. He was very excited when he opened his gifts. The girls really thought he would like these. When we were at Grandma's last time Clay borrowed Sydney's pillow pet two nights in a row for a pillow. Of course he needs his very own! Alex caught her Dad using her snuggie one morning, so once again he should have his own right? He was a real sport when it came to the gratitude department. He gave them both great big hugs and kisses and used his gifts right away. I got him a Go Pro HD video camera but I think he liked the girls gifts more. I hope all Dad's have a great Father's Day, ecspecially ours! We love you Daddy/Husband!!I bet you can't wait to see what the Grandpa's get tomorrow, huh??

My newest addiction...

Yes, it's true. I get highly addicted to certain things very fast. Just yesterday a friend showed me how to sew these amazingly easy pillowcases. This pillowcase is going to match the quilt I'm making for Clay (maybe I'll get it done by Christmas). This pillowcase has a french seam (finished inside seams). I'm also going to make curtains using this pillowcase method. The achievement day girls are coming to my house next week to make skirts using the pillowcase method. I'm hooked. We'll all be sleeping on new pillow cases tonight!

Pray

WE WILL BE
PRAYING

FOR

RAIN.....

like always.

Tennis begins!

One of my favorite things of summer.....GRILLING! We have quickly become hooked on grilling. On this particular day we had grilled chicken, Angus hot dogs, and corn on the cob. We also had a yummy salad to go with it. The kids are hooked as well, they often ask if we can have salad for dinner and they LOVE when Dad cooks on the grill. They always offer to entertain him while he is outside. They do tricks on the trampoline and ride their bikes and catch and hold chickens. I love Clay's shirt, this is his cookout shirt. To me his shirt says Relax and go to the beach. A perfect summer shirt! Today was the first day of Tennis lessons for the girls. They were so excited they couldn't go to sleep. Sydney came in my room last night at close to midnight and said she was having a hard time sleeping. She was a little tired and grouchy this morning but had a great time at tennis.
We got up early, put our hats on, put on our sunscreens and we were out the door. The lessons are free. Everyone that comes gets a racket and a ball to take home for the summer to practise with at home. At the end of the session they have to turn them back in. They also get a canvas bag and a hat to keep.

There was a great turn out today. The lessons are for kids 10 and under. I knew lots of the kids from school. The girls both have lots of friends their age from school on their team. They were split into teams by age.

There was lots of exercising, running, hitting balls, chasing balls, drinking water, bathroom breaks, and sweating. The girls wanted to stay afterwards and practice some more. It was really hot out and I was ready to go home but we stayed!

One of our good friends, Madison, was there along with two of her brothers. Sydney got to be partners with Madison and had a really good time. What a great summer activity for the kids, and it's all free!!

Too Close to home!

Here is a picture of the Monument Fire burning South of Sierra Vista. It's way to close to home. It's very close to the cave that we love to hike to. We were out back tonight watching in the dark and silence as the smoke rose and fire burned. It was very sad.

Relaxation

I'm following my doctors orders. I'm supposed to get plenty of rest, take a vacation from house work and RELAX. So I was on the couch relaxing with my eyes closed when the thought occurred to me, I should make me a new quilt to get cozy with. That way if any visitors come they won't notice my bloody eye or my looks since I can't wear makeup yet, they'll just notice my super cute quilt.
Mission accomplished! I finished it just in time for my afternoon nap!

I'm off to close my eyes for awhile a follow my doctors orders! I can't remember if I mentioned this little fact or not..... but,

I LOVE SUMMER!

The tale of the NOT so crooked eye!

Just a warning, a lot of these pictures are gross (in the ugly sense). I was terrified while at the surgery center. We arrived early because you know me, worry worry worry. I got all checked in and paid for everything. The lady at the front desk sent me back to my seat with a copy of the anesthesia policy to look over. I would sign the real copy going in. Yeah, it was scary. It talked about tubes going down my throat, heart failure, and countless other worries. I wanted to run out the door screaming but Clay was with me so I swallowed my fear and in I went. I cried, I was so scared. Clay hates it when I cry but this time I couldn't help it. They asked a million questions. When was your last period......UM maybe 3 or 4 years ago. WHY? they ask. Good question. I see you're diabetic right because you're taking Metformin........UM no it's for infertility. WHY? Good question. After all the questions I got undressed and hooked up to the I.V. This lady was the best I.V. person ever. I didn't feel a thing. About twenty minutes later they gave me a shot of Valium to relax me and off I went to the O.R. They asked me something but I can't remember what it was, then I was out. As I was waking up I noticed my bed sheets were a wreck, needing to worry about something I asked why. Shannon (the terrific nurse) said I woke up like a boxer and four people had to hold me down. News to me. My throat was sore so I guess I had a tube rammed down it. I was thirsty. There was a really annoying alarm that kept going off and every time it did someone would rush over and tell me to breathe. I wasn't very happy about that. Clay said I kept saying I wasn't a wuss and I wasn't going to cry or I would cry blood. I didn't cry. I did however talk a lot about our chickens and how worried I was that they might be hot according to Clay. Again, news to me!
I slept the majority of the way home. When I got home and took off my sunglasses I was a hot bloody mess. My mom helped me clean up, eat a cracker or two, take some Tylenol with Codeine and helped get into bed. The next day I was hurting. I have no idea what happened when I was under but I couldn't move, breathe, laugh, or cry! I hurt everywhere. My head, my neck, my throat, my chest, my stomach, my ribs. Funny, my eye hasn't really hurt at all. I was in pain but the girls were taken care of, Clay was fed, and my house was clean, and my laundry was done (Thank you Mom) so it wasn't really that bad.

The girls were happy and full. Nana made them awesome breakfasts, took them to the mall, to the bookstore, to the play place, for walks. They were so happy. Since she has been gone they've had no fun a all! One of my good friends from our ward came and got the girls yesterday to play, they were so excited and so ready to get out of the house. I slept the whole time they were gone. Then this amazing lady (Camilee Nelson)brings them home with two nights worth of dinners for the family. Yeah, now I cried. No blood. Then today she picks them up for the summer reading program at the library, brings them home to change their shoes, and as of right now they are still playing at her house. I hate asking for help but this is just what I needed. I'm sick of sitting at home as well, glad the girls are having fun!

I had a follow up appointment in Tucson on Monday morning. Everything looks great he said. I'm grounded to my house if it's windy and I can't lift anything heavier than a gallon of milk for three weeks. Vacuuming and raking are out of the question. I do nothing but sleep. I'm over it, I want to go out and play!

I check every day in the mirror to make sure my eye is still straight. A little bloody but so much better than it was. Compared to how I looked after surgery in fifth grade, this is as bloody as it gets. I'm so thankful for my wonderful doctor, my awesome family, and all the love and support that has been shown to me. The kids at school better watch out. Not only do I know their names but now I can look them straight in the eyes and demand an answer!!

I love my new straight eyeballs!

The girls love their piano!

I've been recovering from my eye surgery so the girls have had little to do that excites them. They have been excellent nurses for me, they've been very quiet when I'm napping, and I haven't heard an argument for days! They spend their lazy summer days taking care of me and plinking around on their new toy. They are following along with a book that was given to us with the piano. I still need to look at the book when I play this song. Alex is a show off and can do it without looking at the book. She even does it with her eyes closed sometimes! Here is their first concert.

The tale of the crooked eye!

Ok, many of you know I have had a lazy eye since I was born. Growing up I had 3, 4, maybe even 5 surgeries. They cut the muscles in my eye and try to pull it in so it is straight. My Grandma Holyoak told stories of watching me after surgery and my eye squirting blood. The last surgery I remember was in fifth grade. I made the mistake of looking at my eye in the bathroom mirror. It was a gruesome bloody sight I'll never forget. Alex had surgery to straighten her eye when she was four. That day on the way home she had her eyes open, never complained of it hurting, and no gushing blood at all. This is what I am hoping for tomorrow. If she can do it, I can do it. We're even using the same doctor. Here are some pre operation pictures. My wonderful husband and kids say they don't notice my eye much. Most of my close friends say they don't either. Innocent little kids in library are a different story. They couldn't lie! I'll call on them, they look behind them. I say no, you. Who?....Me?.....Oh, thought you were talking to someone else. It has forced me to get to know every single child's name in our school. Pre-k through 5th, you can bet I know their name. I get an answer I want to a question with out the embarrassing look behind.
I am terrified to see what tomorrow brings. I'm afraid I'll be in pain. I take great pride in not being a wuss, girly girl kind of wife and mom. I can do anything, I'm super Mom. Good thing Clay is taking me to the surgery center, I'll have to put on a brave face and be strong. He did not marry a baby! I've had nightmares the last couple of weeks of not waking up from anesthesia, Clay worries about me going blind and him having to braid the girls hair. I am TERRIFIED, hopefully it will all be worth it. I've been praying for days to be watched over and protected and to make this surgery a success. I'm getting a blessing to put my mind at ease. I feel strongly that this is the right thing for me to do right now in my life, but man is it scary! I'll post some post operation pictures as soon as I can. I'll be out of the blog world for a little while but, I'll be back!