Quick Update

We had a great trip across the mountains last week. Jared had a conference in Kalispell and we all got to go. Grandma and Grandpa Gage were there too. We went to the park, saw Kung Fu Panda, and swam in the pool everyday. I put ear plugs in Carter's ears because with his tubes he really doesn't like water in his ears. When we were out of the pool and sitting in the hot tub Grandma took the plugs out of his ears and Carter said, "Oh! Now I can see!"
On Friday afternoon we headed to the lake (Flathead Lake). Unfortunately, due to the cold spring the water was freezing! Only 62 degrees! So we just made cobbler, had a fire, went for a couple boat rides and golfed. I think 18 holes was a bit much for me. I just hope this sunburn turns into a nice tan! We are so lucky because we get to go back and have more fun at the lake next week! Hopefully the water will warm up a little so we can enjoy it a bit more!

Now Showing...The Best Daddy!

I know we are a few days early but.... Happy Father's Day Jared!

Wedding Bells and Bowling Balls

Okay before I get to our weekend...Sometimes it is so hard not to laugh at your kids when they are doing things they shouldn't be. Pason and Carter just got in trouble for throwing thier fire engines down the stairs right after I told them I would take them away if they did. As Pason proceeded to throw a fit I could hardly control my laughter while Carter copied everything Pason did. Pason was crying and jumping up and down. Carter would watch Pason for a minute and then cry the most fakey cry and jump up and down. Then he'd stop and look at me and then look at Pason and do it again. Those are the moments you wish you had reality TV cameras in your home, just to lock away that memory and be able to share it.

So, we enjoyed a fun long weekend in Pocatello. Friday was spent running errands most of the day. Friday night we had a yummy crockpot dinner of chicken and cheesy potatoes with my Grandparents from California and Aunt Joelyn and Uncle John from Utah. It was nice because I don't get to see any of them very often. Saturday turned out to be beautiful wedding weather. Sean and Candida were sealed in the same room in the Idaho Falls Temple as Jared and I were. The grounds were absolutely beautiful so we got some good pictures. The rest of the day we stayed busy with the luncheon and reception. Monday we all went bowling. Carter's first time. Bowling with little ones is a slow process. But waiting for the ball to actually get to the pins is worth it to see how excited they are when they knock down even 1 or 2 pins. We also saw a movie, went to a fun center, and played some games during the weekend. The boys didn't nap pretty much the whole time we were there and they were both out before we even got to the interstate yesterday.

On the Road Again

We are into full scale travel season already. Last Thursday we loaded up and drove to Cut Bank for Reid's(Jared's youngest brother) high school graduation. We enjoyed visiting with family, and are very glad that we didn't have norovirus like at Nellie's graduation. However, we could have gone without quite so much rain. I don't know if it stopped raining for more than 30 seconds all weekend. We are grateful for the much needed moisture, but does it all have to come at once?! Anyway we had fun playing rock band and the boys loved playing with Grandma, Grandpa, and cousins Gage and Levi. We wore them out. Sunday night at about 11 pm Carter tried several times to get his dad's attention before finally yelling "DADDY, I wanna go to SLEEP!" Anyway, Congratulations to Reid for graduating top of his class! We love you and will try to forgive you for choosing to go to the other Montana school! Meow! In about a half hour we will be on the road again. This time to Idaho for my brother Sean's wedding.

I Hope You Dance

For the last 3 years I have been able to fulfill my dream of being a dance teacher. Saturday was our recital, my last one. The studio owner, Caralee (a friend from our ward), is moving to Wyoming. Dress rehersal was terrible Saturday morning. I don't know what happened but it was bad. I left thinking "oh well, nothing I can do now!" Luckily the old saying about "bad dress rehersal, good performance" proved true. My little ballerinas did wonderful! I also had to dance in the finale. I was really nervous because I haven't been on stage for 9 years, but I think I did okay. In some ways I am sad that it is over. In some ways it is tempting to take things into my own hands and have my own studio. Most of all I am just happy that I had the experience to share my talent. The one part of teaching I didn't like was the job stress. If I was a studio owner that would be much higher and I prefer to just enjoy my dancing. So for now that chapter of life is over. Maybe now I'll have to work on getting Jared to that ballroom class he's promised to take with me!

Happy Mother's Day...or NOT!

So the day started out great. Jared didn't have his early church meetings so he was around to help get the boys ready for church which is very nice. That afternoon we relaxed, made some phone calls, and then Jared made me chicken cordon bleu for dinner. About 7 pm I started to feel a little off. Around 8:30 I started throwing up. By 11 I had thrown up about 7 times and had been to the bathroom almost as many times. My stomach hurt so bad and I was so weak Jared had to help me from the bed to the bathroom. We called the 24 hour nurse line, and she said I should probably come in. So we took the boys to a friends house at about 12:30 and got to the ER about 1 in the morning. They drew blood to check my level of dehydration and then gave me 2 units of fluid through an IV also 2 kinds of anti-nausea meds and morphine for the pain. We were there for about 3 1/2 hours. Yesterday, Jared stayed home from work to watch the boys and make sure I had enough fluids. I stayed in bed most the day. No more throwing up but my stomach still wasn't quite right. Today I feel much better, but still don't feel like eating much. So what was this mysterious sudden illness? Well Saturday I had a dance performance at a nursing home in Billings that always seems to be on the news for norovirus outbreaks, or it could have been a bad piece of asparagus tainted with ecoli. Who knows, I just wish I could have enjoyed the oreo pie that Pason was so excited to have helped make me!

Me after the morphine!

Preschool Graduation

Hooray! I finally got all my pictures off my camera. So here are some of Pason's graduation.


Class Picture

Pason's Talent

The happy graduate.