Lava Hot Springs

These last two weeks have been so crazy so I need to play catch up since a lot has gone one. Over Father's Day we went with Blake's family to Lava Hot Springs. We rented a place called the Yellow Submarine. I think the people that rented it out were hippies, but it was the cleanest place I've stayed in. They hovered a lot and that is probably why it was clean. We were afraid that our kids we ruin something the whole time. It was pretty cold when we went (in the 60's) but we still had a lot of fun. I only have a couple of pictures of us at the hot pots because other than that it rained and I didn't want my camera ruined. We spent most of our time in the hot pots because the pool was way too cold for my liking. Our place had a fire pit and the kids enjoyed roasting marshmallows and we slept in bunk beds. We thought we would all be able to stay in this place, but the people renting it out only allowed a max of 8 people. We cheated and had 9 because we didn't count Gerrit since he doesn't take up very much space and we brought him a playpen to sleep in. He didn't sleep good at all and whined most of the night. By 5am he was up so he and I went on a little walk. The weather was perfect for a walk. Since I have a hard time sitting around I took the kids to the park that I saw earlier on my walk that was just down the street at about 9am. The pool didn't open until 11am and of course that is when it began to rain. The second night Blake's allergies were so bad that he had to use his inhaler quite a bit and couldn't sleep. We had a lot of fun, but we were excited to come home to get some sleep.

We couldn't leave Lava without getting ice cream from the Ice Cream Shop and having Grandma buy them a souvenir. Kameni and Deilen chose cork guns and Kaymin chose a drum.

Swimming Lessons

On Monday, the kids started swimming lessons. Kaymin is in level 3 and Deilen and Kameni are in Preschool B at the Roy Complex. In order to take them alone (instead of the mom and tot class) you have to be 4. Deilen and Kameni have waited a long time for this. When they turned 4, both of them told they were big enough to take swimming lessons now. Well, they were right. Deilen and Kameni's class starts 30 minutes after Kaymin's class starts so they had to wait. Deilen was so upset that when I tried taking their picture, he just kept telling me that he was going to keep hitting himself in the head until it was his turn. Since Deilen and Kameni are not afraid of the water, I put them in Preschool B, which means they immediately begin going underwater and working on their floats. By Tuesday, Deilen was able to do his front and back float without help. Kameni on the other hand, sat in the bleachers by me because she started throwing up again the night before. On Wednesday, they canceled class because someone threw up in the pool. It wasn't my kids. But today, Kameni was able to do her floats by herself. I am so proud of them. After class the lady that runs the place came up to me and told me to watch out for Deilen because she can tell he will be an excellent swimmer. I am just so shocked at how well he is doing because last year he was still a little gun shy of the water. Kaymin is doing excellent in her class too! She really wants to pass this class because on level 4 they use goggles and swim only in the deep part, going off of the diving boards, and diving in the water. I'm sure she will pass. The girl loves to swim. Now if the weather will cooperate the kids will be able to swim. This 60-70 degree, rainy weather we've been having has been wonderful, but it is making the kids bawl to swim.

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Gerrit's 1-Year and Kameni's 4-Year Check-ups

This last week has been a rough one. We have had pink eye and the flu for the last 10 days passed around from person to person. However, on Thursday I was able to take Gerrit and Kameni in for their yearly well check-ups. Gerrit has 12 teeth, four top and four bottom, as well as his four molars. He is currently cutting his two bottom fangs. He weighed in at 21 pounds 12 ounces and is 30 1/2 inches tall. Over the past 3 months since his last visit he only gained a few ounces, but the doctor seems to think it is due to him being so active. He doesn't hold still for nothing. In fact as the doctor was examining him, I had to hold him down because he was rolling over and trying to crawl away and everything. He is worse now that he is walking. His favorite things right now is the bathroom toilet paper...eating and pulling it out. He loves all types of food and is a really great eater. He really prefers fruits and vegetables above everything else. He is a little dare devil and I think that is why he won't crawl down the stairs backwards...he prefers to go down them head first. Our other kids have fallen down the stairs only a couple of times...Gerrit has about 30 plus times. The way our stairs are in our house, we are unable to use baby gates. I have used a barstool to block the stairs with our other kids but Gerrit has figured out how to move the barstool and go down with the stool. Sometimes it has landed on top of him. I just figured it was less harmful for him to fall by himself than with a stool. Sometimes he cries, sometimes he doesn't. It all depends how bad the fall. He loves to leap off of the couch so you have to hold him really tight. Right now he is putting his face in the water when he is in the tub. He just isn't afraid of anything. Even though Kameni is 4 now, she still acts like she is 2. She loves to be carried and always tells me her legs are broken. She is my snuggler and I love her for it. She will be starting preschool this fall and for the life of me I can't get her to write her name or anything for that fact. She tells me she is too little. She weighed in at 35 pounds 8 ounces and 41 inches long. She was average on her weight and in the 90% for her height. She loves fruits and vegetables and cheese. I craved fruits and vegetables when I was pregnant so maybe that is why she loves them. She loves to play polly pockets and loves the water. She is our little fish. She has never been afraid of the water. Two weeks ago when I took Kameni to the ENT we went to Beus Pond and I took these pictures of them for Gerrit's 1-year and Kameni's 4-year. They turned out so cute.

Gerrit is Walking

On Tuesday, we decided to go to my mom's house for the day. Last year, or the one before that they added a huge great room. Their addition is probably as big if not bigger than their house. Gerrit decided he was going to walk that day. Up until then the most he had taken was 3 steps. I couldn't believe it. I'm not sure if it was having plenty of room or if everyone else there was walking, including my niece, but him. Whatever it was, he hasn't stopped. He can walk across the length of the room and even stands up in the middle of the room by himself. I tried to get a better video, but once the other kids found out that I was recording, they all had to be in it. Now, if I can get him to go down the stairs by himself!

Another Trip to the Doctor For Kameni

Today I took Kameni into the doctor again, this time for pink eye. I thought I had enough eye drops from the last time she had it but I didn't. Since it is the weekend, I decided I had better do it today. Tonight as I put the drops in her eyes and had her say her prayers she went into a coughing attack. Every time she would try to talk she would cough. She hasn't been sick, but has had allergies. I listened to her breathe and she was wheezing. Since we have plenty of Albuterol from Gerrit I decided to try to give her a breathing treatment to see if it helped....and it did! I am now wondering if she has allergy induced asthma like Blake. This has happened several times, but I haven't thought too much about it. Would it surprise me with her....nope not in the least. I guess I will watch her and see what becomes of it. I have her 4 year well check next week and I will be sure to ask the doctor.

Hogle Zoo

Yesterday I took the kids to the Hogle Zoo along with my mom, sister, two sister-in-laws, and their kids, and Taylor. We had a lot of fun. The kids loved it and the weather, although hot, was overcast. The kids' favorite part was the bird show. We sat in the perfect location near the back on the south side where a lot of the bird's cages were. They would fly inches above our heads as they swooped through the air towards the stage. During the bird show Kameni kept complaining that her eyes hurt. Soon enough they were filling up with green goop. About an hour later I knew she had pink eye. We spent several hours there walking around and had a picnic by the rhinos. Gerrit was amazed and kept wanting to touch every animal he saw. On our way out I promised the kids that they could ride the train. Deilen begged me about every two minutes if it was time to ride it yet. Once we got up to the train, it was closed for the day. Deilen was heart broken but I promised him we would come back next month.

1st Week of Summer Vacation

This week has been a busy one so far. Monday we all went to see the dentist for a cleaning. We were all cavity free, except for Kameni. She had six! She must take after me and have horrible teeth. Out of all of our kids, she is the one who eats less sugar and junk food. Afterwards we visited the library to get motivated for a summer full of reading. Tuesday, we spent the day at my mom's house playing and having fun. Yesterday I took her into the ENT and sure enough her ears have a ton of fluid behind them so tube set #3 is scheduled for July 9th. Luckily they will not be removing her tonsils, but they will be drawing blood to check for allergies. Apparently the children's Claritin I am giving her is not working. Afterwards since doctor appointments are never fun, I took the kids to the South Ogden splash park. They had a ball and Gerrit was wiped out and missed out on all of the action and excitement. We had too much fun!