Summer

We had a really great summer!

- Swimming for All -

OTG Boy was on the water polo team.

The Professor earned his Swimming and Life Saving Merit Badges.

Bubba found his swimming groove - thanks to his fantastic teachers...

he's actually excited for swim team next year.

After his first week of swimming lessons Junior was pretty sure I was trying to kill him - but he spent the summer singing songs about rowing and kicking and loves being in the pool.

- Scout Camp at Camp Raymond -

Handsome Hubby, OTG Boy & The Professor Spent a Week at Scout Camp

OTG Boy earned Merit Badges for: Archery, Rifle Shooting, Leatherwork, Soil and Water Conservation, Weather, Forestry, Geology and Emergency Preparedness

OTG Boy's favorite memory:  Being the Master of Ceremonies for one of the nightly campfire programs.

The Professor earned Merit Badges for: Rifle Shooting, Weather, Soil and Water Conservation, Geology, Environmental Science, Leatherwork and Forestry

The Professor's favorite memory: Earning his Rifle Shooting Merit Badge.

Handsome Hubby's favorite memory:  Having the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to attend camp with his two oldest sons.

So, Bubba loved having everyone gone for the week... Junior not so much.  He woke up every morning between 5:30 and 6:00 am, walked into my room to see who was there and then yelled at the top of his lungs, "Where's my DADDY!?!"

We tried to have a little fun while the three of us were holding down the fort... we went to the movies, got happy meals from McDonald's, and went to Jambo (an indoor amusement park).

-15 Years of Marriage -

A lot has happened in the last 15 years!

5 Kids * 5 Homes * 3 Cars * 2 Vans * 1 Truck * 2 States (1 twice) * Handsome Hubby's worked for 5 different companies and I'm the Mom (the job I always wanted) I've had a few odd random jobs here and there... law offices, cell phone companies and insurance transcriptionist... even a paper route :) * We've gone on some great roadtrips and Vacations * Had a lot of Church Callings * Good Times * Hard Times * More Blessings than we can count!

 - Summer Vacation -

Our first full day in Utah was spent at Lagoon.  As a kid I remember going every summer for Stake Lagoon Day!  My siblings and I would plan for weeks which rides we'd try and in what order.  As a teenager I spent my summers working there as a ride operator.  Well our kids have never been to a real amusement park - and it was so much fun to take them to a place with so many great memories.  At the end of the day OTG Boy and The Professor were asking if we could move to Utah - they were thinking it might be fun to follow in my footsteps and get themselves some summer jobs :)

Junior's favorite ride - I can't even count how many times he drove the bumper cars!



OTG Boy & The Professor loved everything they tried - they loved spinning & flying through the air!



Day 2 was spent touring BYU, visiting with my Grandma and spending the evening visiting with my dad, brothers and their families!

Next came Handsome Hubby's graduation day!

He learned so much working on his MBA - the boy's and I are extremely proud!

Our last stop?  Grandpa and Grandma's farm.  The kids had so much fun visiting with family, riding horses, climbing haystacks and being around every kind of animal.  They also enjoyed shooting guns and trying out the bow and arrows... but, I think Handsome Hubby had the most fun - living in the city just isn't the same.

  

Now... the Kids have all been back in school for almost a month!



The High School Student





The Middle School Student



The Elementary School Student



3-Year-Old Student of Life

Time is flying by!!!



It's Quiet... too Quiet

Last Friday morning I was helping The Professor with his math. It was pretty intense. After about 20 minutes of working hard, I realized I hadn't heard even the tiniest "peep" from Junior. Any mom will tell you, that's just not good.

So the hunt began... after checking a couple of rooms my heart sank and I new exactly where he was - the forbidden "Big Boy Room."

I pushed on the door - it hardly moved. I pushed a little harder, cracked it open enough to see that a chair and scriptures had been stacked against the door to block it shut. Pushed a little harder and caught Junior's face of panic sitting in the middle of a giant mess. He had pulled out every game, every basket of stuff, clothes out of drawers... you get the picture. He had trashed his brothers room. Without blinking, or looking away, he solemnly said,...

"Mama, don't look at any of this."

Anything Happening at HaHa's House?

I never thought I would say it, but I was talking with Handsome Hubby the other day and all of the sudden I found myself saying how much I missed the good 'ole days of having only one car and two kids under the age of two.

Did I just say that?!?

Yeah, I did... WOW.

For me, life seems to cycle. Sometimes I feel like everything is amazing and then I feel like everything is insane. Lately, I've been feeling overwhelmed - you can tell by the lack of blog posts :) Professional blogging is definitely not my thing - but keeping in touch with friends and family - I thought that should be pretty do-able... I thought.

So, I thought I better get posting so you'd know what was going in HaHa Land!

Handsome Hubby

New calling in the church, Scout Master! With the new calling a new something to drive. Our little old Saturn was having problems right & left... so he got to get a little something he's been wanting for years!!!

The Professor, Handsome Hubby & OTG Boy

Headed off to the Stake Camporee Last Fall

He loves his new toy!

He's studying like crazy to finish-up the MBA - he's doing great - and we are ALL looking forward to graduation! With all of his extra-curricular, life at work is pretty crazy, too... new owners, new bosses, new responsibilities - if you're curious give him a call - he'll tell you all about his adventures.

OTG Boy

On the Go, as usual. Biggest changes - he just registered for high school and I am in total denial! In the meantime, he's doing great with school he's in orchestra and choir and also decided to learn the mandolin for Fiddle Club. And just for fun decided to be part of the Year Book Club, too. He has his eye on engineering, but I have to say he's pretty good with graphic design - yearbook club has brought that out. Summer is over, but he's still volunteering at the library - good kid - works hard.

He also loves to play goalie and took weight training as an elective this year.
It's official - he's a teenager!

The Professor

Absolutely loves his classes for school! Online schooling has been a huge blessing in this kid's life. However, he likes to get out of the house sometimes, too. He has so much fun going to his scout activities and tells me everyday about his amazing leaders. He's worked up to a blue belt in his martial arts class and can make one of the best "intense" faces you have ever seen. The Professor's biggest change?

Braces!

I tried and tried - but no matter how many pictures I took - he still came out looking like a teenager. I guess this little boy is growing-up, too.

Bubba

Bubba loves to have fun! His favorite subject in school is recess and his second favorite is lunch :) You get this kid together with his friends and he does not stop talking! He's been working hard at school and making definite progress with reading & spelling... and the kid is a math whiz! The only day of the week he actually enjoys homework is math day - any other day I think he'd actually prefer having a tooth pulled... if he just didn't have to do homework!

Bubba's biggest news is that he was baptized this past year and it was so fun to have family in town! We were lucky to have both sets of grandparents, a couple of aunts, a couple of uncles and a lot of cousins come by for the happy day... it was really great to see everyone!

Junior

Well, what's not constantly changing about this little man? The one constant? He's still a daddy's boy! A day without Daddy is just wrong! He loves playing High Ho Cherri-o and Candyland. His biggest accomplishment since Christmas - Potty Training! No more diapers at HaHa's House!!!

HaHa

Now you can see why I miss the no car - toddler days. Back then I spent my time, all day - pretty much everyday - at home. No commitments. No craziness. No needing to be four places at the same time while Handsome Hubby is out of town. Just walks to the park with my double stroller and playing in the backyard.

These days I'm driving kids everywhere and trying to organize schedules. I spend my days helping The Professor with school. Reading and singing with Junior. Working on spelling lists with Bubba and trying to keep up with OTG Boy.

Junior, HaHa & The Professor the park in Fountain Hills

It's hard to find a picture of myself - I'm always behind the camera :)

Life is definitely crazy... but... definitely good!

And I am thankful, every day, for the boys who make my life amazing!

Summer Round-up

No need to worry about Junior - he can hold his own just fine!

Dear Family & Friends,
You're probably wondering what we did with ourselves this past summer... especially since we didn't take any big vacations, missed ALL the family reunions, and basically haven't left the state since last summer. (Well unless you count Handsome Hubby - he's been off on business trips to California & Texas... but I don't... I like to travel too!)

If you ask the kids they'll tell you they did chores ALL summer - and they did - but here at HaHa's house we pay on commission so, honestly, it couldn't have been that bad - they were pleased with their summer incomes.

So here's the rundown...

Handsome Hubby - worked a lot, studied a lot, has enjoyed his calling as an 11-year-old scout leader, and is basically functioning on very little sleep - I can't believe how much he accomplishes in the day. Thank goodness the MBA will be done by next summer!

OTG Boy - and the award for "Not Wasting Time" goes to... yes OTG Boy. Not only did he attend Scout Camp for a week, he spent the summer participating in Swim Team, played on a water polo team, had a couple of scout camp outs (in addition to camp), cello lessons, Young Men activities and he volunteered at least once a week at the library. The teenage years are upon us - this is one kid who's hard to keep up with.

The Professor - karate, karate, karate... lots of karate! Also, since he didn't have swimming lessons I "made" him spend time in the pool everyday practicing all his strokes. Don't worry - plenty of free swim time too... I'm not that mean :)

Bubba - took swimming lessons from the best teacher he's ever had! He loved getting his gummy worm at the end of each lesson... such a good little fish.

Junior - well he spent a lot of time with mommy in the car driving to everyone's activities. However, he played in the pool every day, too - he loves jumping off the side and swimming to the steps (still needs help, but he's doing great)!

HaHa - driving, driving & driving. In between activities we managed to throw in our weekly Summer Fun movie at Harkins, plenty of trips to the AZ Science Center (one of our favorite places), a wild morning at BounceU, oh and we can't forget, plenty of trips to the library - the kids completed the both the Mesa & Phoenix summer reading programs (and yes, if you are wondering, I am "that" mean - they had to read separate books for each - but my kids love books so really it's better to have a challenge) - can't wait to take the kids to their free Diamondbacks game!

Also, Handsome Hubby and I had tickets to see "Little Shop of Horrors" - Handsome Hubby thinks I'm so funny but, I love that musical.

And to top off the wonderful summer "break"? A family camping trip - that will get a blog post all it's own.

Very great summer! I'm trying to enjoy them and keep track of the memories - my little boys are growing-up - I love it, but I hate it.

Hope you all had wonderful summers, too!

Love,

HaHa

P.S. We hope to see a lot more of you in the next year!

First Laugh of the Day

Junior is my garden helper. Everyday - we work in the garden together and he likes to say the names of the vegetables as we are weeding or harvesting.

This morning we were out picking some okra...

he was chatting along and then he got very quiet - I could see he was thinking - and then I knew... he'd forgotten what this vegetable was called.

Then all of the sudden his eyes lit up and he said,

"Mama - I weally wike "B"-kra!"

I had to smile - and then said, "you mean "O"-kra?"

"Oh yea, Mama wight... is "O"kra!"

Junior with his "B"-kra!

The Garden

Our garden has been very productive this year!!!

It's been fun for the kids to help -

they help with the watering & the weeding.

So far we've harvested:

Green Bell Peppers

Roma Tomatoes (hundreds - it feels like)

Jalapeno Peppers (very spicy)

Peas

Cucumbers

and Okra!

The zuchini and crook neck squashes are almost ready!

Lessons Learned:

We had to battle the birds this year they kept eating our little plants...

Handsome Hubby created a system to keep the birds out!

Lesson two: we specifically planted roma tomatoes because I had heard they are excellent for canning. So, I thought with all our peppers I would make my own salsa to can. I learned making salsa is a lot of work - for a very small yield. I think I'll stick with the sales and buy my salsa at the store from now on : )

Playing is Hard Work

Junior has two things... okay actually, three things he absolutely loves doing!

The first is playing outside - but there's no picture - he helps me water the garden every morning.

Number two: he loves trains - his room becomes a train track... daily!

The third? Woody is his best friend! We watched "Toy Story 3" for the first time a couple of months ago. Half way through the movie Junior ran out of the room, threw every toy out of the toy box until he found Woody, and his hat, at the very bottom... they've been inseparable ever since!

Junior's 2 - it's a little Deja Vu

A few pictures from the big day!

Loved his egg free cake!

and now for the

Deja vu!

Here's Bubba when he turned 2!

Pioneer Village

We recently went on our first, "official," school field trip of the year.

(The Professor by the well at the Miner's Shack)

It took us about an hour to get to the Pioneer Living History Museum just north of Phoenix.

(The Professor & Junior in front of the school house.)

The Professor loves learning at home - however, I think all of us had a good time getting out for the morning. We learned about the early settlers of Arizona and Junior liked seeing the chickens in the chicken coop.

Right around lunch time the volunteers at the museum put on a good old fashioned gun fight on Main Street. I wasn't sure The Professor would like it, but he said he wanted to go... and I'm glad we did. Before the "show" the Sheriff and a few town people had a gun safety presentation - it was very informative and has convinced me I need to take a gun safety class - which wasn't something I'd ever thought about doing. When the gunfight started The Professor covered his ears... took a few deep breaths... but did a great job of handling the chaos. I'm so proud of him for wanting to do something that wasn't easy for him to do - he's made a lot of progress in the last couple of years!

Mac is Back!

Finding myself in the world of allergies and dietary restrictions I thought my days of quick, "easy" meals were over. We've been eating a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables and cooking most meals from scratch. One thing I've really missed is pasta. Spaghetti and mac & cheese were my go-to meals on those days I just didn't feel like cooking and didn't have a lot of time. Don't get me wrong - we've loved eating spaghetti squash - it just takes a little bit longer to prepare than throwing noodles into the boiling water. Well, try finding pasta that has not been made with eggs, and if you do... try finding it manufactured on equipment that does not also process egg products - pretty much impossible. So, since I'd been missing pasta I decided to get online and figure out how to make pasta without eggs - I found that there is actually a town in Italy famous for their "eggless" pasta - it's made from durum wheat. So I've found a local store down the road in Gilbert where I can purchase my durum wheat... but I haven't made it there yet.

Just the other day my busy little boy found this box of mac & cheese stuffed way in the back of the cupboard.

I'd never even thought twice about eating mac & cheese, our allergist right off the bat said it was on the "no-no" list.

Well, I started reading the label and guess what? Fry's brand Macaroni & Cheese is made with durum wheat and no eggs. And there were no warnings on the label that it had been processed on the same equipment as eggs. So, I thought we'd try it out...

not a reaction in sight :)

I'll be putting mac back on my shelves - it's nice to have a least one thing I can fix in a pinch!

(Of course, I'll have to check out the white mac & cheese first... turns out the regular stuff contains yellow 6 & yellow 5... please let the white cheese have no egg products... please, please, please, please... please!)

Big Changes

This little boy seems to grow by the day!

Which truly is a miracle.

In his short little life he's gone through rounds of testing trying to determine why he wasn't gaining weight.

When he was 15 months old we rushed him to the ER - his heart was racing and his breathing was labored. Turned out he'd swallowed a dime and it was lodged in his throat - after emergency surgery and a day of recovery life was back to normal.

Then in September came the "peanut butter incident" and another rush trip to the ER. Now our world is completely changed: no peanuts, no eggs and no tree nuts. No more peanut butter, no mac & cheese, no ranch dressing... big changes, but a huge blessing. Once we removed these foods from our diet Junior has started gaining more weight, his cheeks aren't red and chapped and he has a much healthier appetite.

Junior is daddy's little boy. If Dad is home Junior is with him... if Dad is leaving Junior wants to go.

Junior gives the happiest kisses and loves using his new words. Two new words of the day... "cool" & "pitty stars."

Long Over Due

Updated photos of these handsome little men are long overdue!

So, as we come into the holidays I'd like re-introduce you to a few of my most favorite people.

Which First... the Chicken or the Egg?

For Junior the choice is clearly chicken!

Yes, he is allergic to eggs, too!

Originally, we thought he was able to tolerate eggs that had been cooked into foods like pancakes, or banana bread - but, over the last month we have realized how wrong we were. Now, that we have been removing allergens from our home it has become painfully obvious that when Junior eats pancakes his face is red and blotchy within minutes and the other day when we tried boiling eggs his eyes began to water and his nose started to run... we haven't cooked with an egg in two weeks.

Let's just say, we are very glad we never invested in the chickens we were thinking about buying last year :)

So what do we do with egg allergies?

Read the Label!

Key Words in the Ingredient Lists are:

albumin or albumen, egg (dried, powdered, solids, white & yolk), eggnog, lysozyme, mayonnaise, meringue and surimi

Foods the Doctor Suggested We Avoid:

egg flavoring (natural & artificial)

lecithin

macaroni

marzipan

marshmallows

nougat

pasta

This allergy is definitely taking some getting used to - no more marshmallows, miracle whip and cheap pasta from the store.

Did you know candy corn contains eggs? Well you do now!

Now everything is made from scratch and I'm experimenting with ingredients I can substitute for eggs. Luckily, my eggless pancakes have been a success - Junior loves them so much he talks about them in his sleep!

Now if I can just figure out how to make eggplant parmigiana without eggs we'll be okay!

My New Allergy World - It's Way More Than a Sneeze

This September Junior tasted his first and last lick of peanut butter sandwich. After taking the tiniest lick of peanut butter I've ever seen, he pushed his sandwich away and wouldn't eat anymore. Five minutes later he had hives going down the back of his neck, his face was swelling, and he started having trouble breathing.

The ER pumped him full of Benadryl, steroids and epinephrine... after several hours of observation we were able to leave with the advice that we contact an allergist and pick up an Epipen as soon as possible.

We've met with the allergist and boy have our lives changed!

Junior is highly allergic to...

peanuts

and

eggs

and mildly allergic to most

tree nuts.

So, now a visit with us is going to be even more exciting than it already was. I promise I will try not to be a nag, but I will have to ask about every product used in the cooking process... right down to your butter - some use peanut oils instead of vegetable.

But, I'll start you off with the basics, so you'll know what to expect.

Peanuts:

Always read every label to see if peanuts are listed in the ingredients.

Always read the label to see if the product was made in a factory that also processes peanuts - if this is the case it's still a "no-no."

Key words in ingredient lists would be:

artificial nuts, beer nuts, cold pressed - expelled - extruded peanut oil, goobers, ground nuts, mixed nuts, monkey nuts, nutmeat, nut pieces, peanut, peanut butter and peanut flour.

Foods that the doctor suggested we avoid (unless we make it at home - completely from scratch - and know every ingredient) include:

African, Asian (esp. Chinese, Indian, Indonesian, Thai, and Vietnamese), and Mexican dishes

(So glad Korean food isn't on the list - but I can make it from scratch and I've never used peanut oil in what I make)

baked goods (pastries, cookies, etc. - Handsome Hubby is really gonna miss his early morning donut runs for the kids)

candy (especially chocolates)

chili (who knew they used peanuts to thicken chili? I didn't until I came home and found out how deadly it could be to someone with a peanut allergy)

egg rolls

enchilada sauce

peanut flavorings - natural and artificial

nougat

And really there's more, but I think that's enough for day one.

In fact, I thought I'd share my information for each allergy today, but now I see separate posts will be much better.

So, tune in next week for everything you ever wanted to know about egg allergies - some of the info will shock you! It did me :)

Ouch!

During OTG Boy's last Water Polo match - Junior thought he'd try running away.

Now he's had his first lesson on why they have all of those "no running" signs at the pool.

He bit his tongue, cut his lip & scraped his chin!

Oh little boys... I Love 'em!

First Haircut

First Junior Looked like this:

Mommy really didn't want to do it... her baby wouldn't look like a baby anymore :(

But, we're all supposed to learn and grow, so...

Daddy went to work and Junior didn't even cry (the only one of our boys who didn't) - he just seemed slightly annoyed.

Here's how he looks today:

All "Big Boy"

Happy Sleep

I couldn't resist recording this... every time Junior would wake back up he'd start to laugh... way too cute!

Happy days are good days!

Backyard Fun

When it's 104 degrees - the pool is a wonderful place to be!

Junior loves floating around!

Bubba, the noodle thief!

How about a snorkeling adventure with the Professor?

OTG Boy's up for a little one-on-one any day!

And of course Handsome Hubby and I take turns playing and life-guarding...

How 'bout a swim? Come on over!

My Little Helper

This little one loves being outside and loves watering the lawn. I love how our kids come to this earth natural born helpers - I wish it would stay that way. Junior really is a good helper, but...

He also loves any excuse to get in the water :)