"Vacation"

Well, on our "forced vacation," I have managed to get some things done--master cinamon rolls and sugar doodles, flop completely at making bread (someday I'm going to learn the secret!), get some blogging done, go on a short ranger ride, go on some long runs, clean my floors and shower (both of which I hate doing and put off as long as possible), canned some chicken, started reading Wuthering Heights for the millionth time (I haven't been able to get past the first chapter since HS), and just hung out with my funny kids and my sweet hubby. My mock cinabuns are the best!Yummy bottled chicken! Reagan and Travis built a snicker doodle snow man! Crazy kids! (Yes, we may weigh a million lbs. by the time we are free to roam the town!)

The kids have enjoyed some outside time and some inside time...playing legos, trains, and Disney figures have been their favorites.

Have You Ever Seen So Much Snow???

All of our rain down here has brought LOTS of snow to Mt. Graham...........more than we've ever seen! With feet-not inches- piling up on the cabin roof top, Jason and Tanner decided we needed to take a trip up and clear off the snow. As we made the trek from the truck to the cabin, the snow was up to my waist in places...and there was still snow pack under my foot! Crazy! Jason and Tanner worked long and hard...it took lots more time than we expected! This is a pic of the peak of the cabin roof. Check out that snow drift on top of it!

Travis loved the snow, but missed insulated gloves! His hands got cold fast so we just sat on our sled and watched the men work.

The snow was almost deeper than the shovel on the (highest) roof of the cabin!
What a blessing the rain has been to the valley and to the mountain...it is going to be a beautiful spring and summer!

Ps--Tanner is Daddy now! Alexis Grace was born last week! We are so excited to have another baby (especially a girl!) in the family!

Riding/Biking to School

As Arizonans, we love any sprinkle of rain we can get....but with rain everyday last week and some this week, the kids and I are about done with rainy, wet, and muddy days. Finally, we had a few mornings this week that were dry enough to brave biking to school--which Reagan has been begging to do since Travis and I got our cool bike trailer. It may be cold out, but the kids don't mind. They love it! Now, we just have to work on Reagan being able to bike all the way to school beside us--so she can be a biker instead of a rider!

Positive for Pertussis

"WHAT?! This is crazy?! I can't even believe this!" That is definitely what went through my head yesterday...
I had spent the day watching my niece, hanging with Travis, going on a nice run, and making cinnamon rolls to be delivered to some special family members and my VT sisters. I was just wrapping up some birthday gifts for the weekend and making plans for the evening when I got a phone call. It was the DON from the hospital...my Pertussis or Whooping Cough test was POSITIVE!
The story really starts back in December...when my cough started. I guess at one point in early to mid December I probably had what I thought was a cold--runny nose, cough, mild fevers, etc. I have many a mild cold in my day with my profession, so I didn't think much about it then and honestly can't even pin point the days I actually felt sick. The cough seemed to linger for days and then weeks. I just attributed it to allergies and didn't think much about it. Then, early this month, the cough seemed to be getting worse. I noticed this especially at night when I was at work. But still, I wasn't SICK...so I didn't bother to see my Dr. Then, one night at work as I ate cough drops like candy with no relief, one of the ED providers mentioned what a bad cough I had. I laughed and said, "Yeah, it must be whooping cough 'cuz I've had it for weeks." The Dr.--the eccentric white hair funny man that he is--immediately agreed with me (and I had been joking!). He discussed my symptoms with me and then encouraged me to get tested. So I had my blood drawn and it was off to the lab. This was early in the weekend, and by Monday my cough seemed to be improving so I called the lab and told them to just cancel the test and not to worry about it. And since....my cough has continued to improve and I hadn't given much thought to it...tell the phone call. Guess you could say that's about all this is on my mind now.
I have been placed on antibiotics (AZithromycin) for 5 days and am basically quarantined to my house and considered contagious until the antibiocs are finished. They are treating Jason too, but aren't worried at all about my kids (despite the fact that I do since they both have coughs) because the kids have both been vaccinated....and their vaccinations are recent (since they are young.) This is nuts....oh, the fun--that's what I get for being an old ED nurse right?! Guess I can get caught up on blogging and such!
If you are concerned about yourself or your symptoms....call your Dr. ASAP!
If you have more questions...check out pertussis.com and medicinenet.com and mayoclinic.com. (There is tons of information on the web!) I am sorry and feel horrible about possibly infecting anyone...especially my loved ones.

**New update 430pm--The State epidemiologist made the trek to Safford due to my "case". I was called and they wanted to test my kiddos--nasaly thankfully but it was still torture on them.
We won't know the result for up to 1-2 weeks so the epidemilogist says we are to treat the kids with antibiotics too--just in case.
--Note to self and everyone else:
Get TDAP as soon as possible!

Give Us a Day and We Will Play!

The days of January have been flying by. They have been filled with school (Reagan is glad to be back and Jason is finishing his last EA class)...and filled with parties- a Rock Star bash at Reagan's friend,s and 2 baby showers (we are about to have a new Larson cousin and can't wait), teaching YW and YM (this is easy for Dad but time consuming for Mom!), babysitting cousin Kaela (Mom found her a secretarial job at a financial place by accident), going to a new piano teacher and new "big girl" gymnastic class (Reagan is excited and loving both!), playing with Legos and trains and watching Cars and making a mess (Travis's past times), and just plain working (this being Dad...and Mom more than usual). So, yes--just give us a day and this family will play! We opted for a short day trip to Tucson on MLK Day since everyone was off!

The kids were excited to go to the zoo. Travis, despite having been feeling rotten the day before, woke up at 4:30am and was ready to go...he tried to keep me awake by making every animal sound he knew and asking if they would be at the zoo. I would reply that, "I didn't know," and try to dose off...Travis would interrupt with "Guess I'll just have to check it out." Silly boy!

With Travis feeling mostly better, it was off to the Tucson Zoo we went. And I'm sure the boy was not disappointed. Reagan and him ran from animal to animal pulling their parents in full tow! They loved it! And Reagan loved showing things to Travis and being his tour guide. It was cute! It was also the perfect day--70 degrees and sunny. Both kids asked if they could ride the elephants. They settled for the bronze one in front of the elephant cage.

CHEESE?!
We made it too late to feed the giraffe which Reagan was bummed about, but the kids both enjoyed watching them eat their "pinatas".

Reagan and Travis were both brave and touched the snake we saw. "That was gross," Travis said after he felt its slimy body. Reagan agreed!

Our monkeys loved watching these silly monkeys play with each other.

Reagan acting as tour guide. "Now this is an interesting animal."

Travis and Dad having fun!

We don't fit in this egg!

After a bit of shopping and a yummy dinner, we headed home. It was a Tiger-rrific trip and lots of fun!

Snow Fun

The kids have been begging for days and days to go play in the snow...it is so tempting as you look up to Mt. Graham with its snow cover cap. But, I have to admit I was putting it off as it is often cold and fun, but often a bit miserable and wet within minutes. Last week on New Years Eve Day, Jason and I gave in and up to the Larson cabin we went. This year, we came prepared for the snow--in real snow attire! Some great friends who have children the same age as ours offered to let us borrow their snow gear! So dressed in bibs, boots, and fancy gloves of theirs and some normal cold weather jackets of ours, we managed to spend a WARM day playing in the snow! I honestly can't believe the difference...there were very few tears--only when Travis plowed down the mtn. and into Reagan, acquiring himself a black eye---the kids were warm and enjoyed the snow. We played off and on for hours! It was great! I never thought it would be worth it to have snow gear... but I was wrong and can't wait to find some!
The snow itself was good and deep...maybe 14-18 inches. It was still soft and powery like fresh, newly fallen snow! It was a great sunny day for some snow fun! Our little sled goes "super fast" as Travis says!

Faster Mom! Where is Travis?

Reagan couldn't get enough sledding in for the day!

Daddy likes the snow too!

No crashing!

Faster Dad! MUSH! MUSH!

Playing hard makes for a tired boy! Travis took a little nap while Mom and Reagan went back out to play!"Okay, I'll rest--but only for a few minutes!"I don't usually love winter....but I think could learn to if every day was like this one! (And hats off to great friends who don't mind sharing! Thank you!)