Vacation

Spencer has a lot of unused vacation time so when the opportunity presented itself to take an entire week off, he jumped on it! We accomplished a lot and had some fun too. 

The kids didn't have school in Monday so we worked together to clean the house and then went to Monsters University. Probably one I the best family movies I've seen in a really long time! Grandpa Dave and Grandma Tisa joined us. We all watch Gavin play flag football that evening. 

On Tuesday I left Spencer and the twins home and got to go get a pedicure with my good friend, Gina. While I was being pampered, I received the following text conversation. I'm still laughing. We watched Owen's final soccer game that night and I taught the young women from my old ward how to make bread. 

Wednesday was Spencer's 37th birthday. We went to the Outlets at Traverse Mountain to buy him a sports coat for work. We also got a chocolate and caramel covered apple and some peanut butter fudge from Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory. We rushed back to Draper to join Owen at school for lunch. (Once a month, parents are invited to celebrate the birthdays happening that month...and Owen's is on the 20th!) That night, Callie babysat while we went to dinner at Tucano's...Spencer's favorite place to eat. 

Callie watched the twins again on Thursday morning so that we could attend a temple session. It was my second but Spencer's first time seeing the new presentation. So powerful. We had lunch with Callie. 

Spencer built an awesome bike rack out of PVC on Friday. We found the DIY instructions on line. When Owen got home from school, Spencer asked him if he wanted to help put it together. Owen said he didn't feel good but tried to help for a while. When I was finished with piano lessons, I listened to Owen's symptoms, since he wasn't acting any better. Within the hour we had a confirmed strep test and a prescription for an antibiotic. He went to bed early and woke up a healthier boy.

Saturday we went to Cam's football game. Sunday was church. Monday, Spencer flew to California for work. And that was the end of his weeklong vacation!

Football...Flag not Tackle

Gavin really wanted to play football this year. Football of the tackling variety. I am so not ready for two boys with such full practice schedules. I know it's gonna happen soon and I realize that we'll eventually have 3 boys playing at the same time...maybe even 4?!? Let's see, when Harrison is old enough for tackle (9 or 10), Cam will be 18 or 19...so Cam will be on his mission! Good, only 3 boys will play football at a time. Glad we got that figured out. Ha!

Anyway, I convinced Gavin that he should play at least one year of Flag Football to make sure he wanted to play Tackle. And tonight was his first game. Because Owen had a soccer game at the exact same time, Spencer went to O's game (they won 6-4) and I took the twins and went to G's. Cam was at practice. Callie & Ivie and Grandpa & Grandma Styer came too. 

Gavin is just fun to watch in whatever he does. He smiles all the time...

He played good defense. 

He also got to be the QB for a series of plays. He even threw two (incomplete) passes. And he made the hand off for the teams' only touchdown. 

It's gonna be a great season...even if we lost 12-6 this game. 

Berry Pickin'

This morning the twins and I met up with our friends, Erin & Harrison, Whitney & Berkley & Sovie. We loaded up in our big SUV...3 carseats in the back row, 2 carseats and an adult in the middle row. I'm so grateful for our BIG vehicle. We drove to a little place called McBride's Briar Patch in Mapleton, Utah. 

We were met my Farmer McBride and his wife. He quickly showed us where to pick and outfitted each of us with a bucket, tied to our waists. 

The twins were awesome berry pickers and we went up and down the rows, picking just the "beautiful berries" according to Madi. When we were finished, we had close to 3 pounds! 

Then Farmer McBride told us to meet him at the end of the raspberry rows. There was a large fenced in pasture with numerous deer and one goat. Farmer McB brought some cut up apples and let the kids feed the deer and goat through the fence. Harrison enjoyed watching but didn't want to touch. Madi was pretty much afraid. 

After paying for our berries ($3/pound), Mrs. Farmer McB told us to pick a few flowers on our way back to the car. So we did. 

We ate lunch at Cafe Rio and then came home for a much needed nap! What a fun day!!

3rd Birthday

Our babies turned 3 today. And we celebrated! First though, we had to go to Cameron's football game (which they won 20-0). Then we went to Astro Burger for lunch, presents, and cupcakes & ice cream cones. 

We were happy to have both sets of grandparents, one aunt (Callie), and two uncles (Tom & Chopper) to share in the festivities. And the twins were absolutely spoiled!!!

Granny Jane & Grandpa Rick gave the babies some cash. We'll go shopping for fall clothes or shoes and something fun. 

Grandma Tisa & Grandpa Dave gave Harrison a new pillow/blanket set that is super soft and a stuffed animal. They gave Madi a purse that was filled with jewelry, chap stick, and hair accessories. She's been packing it around all night. 

Uncle Tom gave Harrison a Spider-Man airplane and Madison a Repunzel doll. 

Aunt Callie gave Han a Spider-Man costume and Madi a Sophia the First princess costume. They put them on immediately after their nap and didn't take them off until bedtime. 

Hardings sent a package from Virginia...princess jewelry, elastics and hair clips, and a little purse for Madi. A candy spinner toy and a giant sticky hand for Han. The brothers were super excited to show Han how to stick the hand to the wall. 

Ryan & No'el sent Han some Halloween pajamas and Madi an adorable Halloween shirt/skirt. 

We gave them each a toy laptop and a game...Minnie Mouse Bingo for Madi and Monsters, Inc matching game for Han. 

We sang Happy Birthday and they blew out their candles. 

Can't believe we've survived THREE years of crazy twin life!!

Track

In his mind, Cameron's world runs from the end of football season to the beginning of football season. To keep busy and try to stay in shape, he played 2 sessions of basketball and he also participated in track. 

Track was a bit of a joke. It is ran by high school kids so they aren't really trained on how to teach the different events. But many of his friends went to practice so Cam had a good time. 

He even went to two track meets. They were encouraged to do 2 running events and 2 field events. Cam is not a very fast runner so he didn't look forward to racing. But he did the 4x100 relay at both meets. Callie taught him how to throw the shot put and discus and he was pretty good and natural. But when you go to a track meet with hundreds of kids where they don't announce the results, you never really know how you did. 

A couple of days ago, I went to get the mail and there was an envelope addressed to Cameron Styer. When he opened it, there was a 4th place ribbon for the 4x100 and a 3rd place ribbon for shot put! He was pretty pumped and we both giggled about it. 

BAV

When Harrison was born, they noticed that he had a heart murmur. The pediatrician at the hospital told us it was somewhat common when babies are born prematurely. (The twins were born at 36 weeks, 3 days.) The doc just told me to tell my regular pediatrician so that she was aware of it and could keep up on it to make sure it was no longer an issue as Han grew. At his 2 year well-child check, Dr. Sheri told me that if the murmur was going to discontinue on it's own, it should've happened at that point. She advised us to have him seen at Primary Children's to have a full chest work up. So we did that last year. 

We saw Dr. Jou (pronounced Joe) and after an EKG, chest x-rays, and an Echocardiogram, Harrison was diagnosed with Bicuspid Aortic Valve or BAV. Dr. Jou assured us it was a very minor case but that he wanted to see Han every year for an Echo. 

So it was time for his check-up on Friday, September 6. I didn't want Han to worry or be nervous so I just told him we had to go to the doctor and have some pictures of his heart. I told him that daddy and I would be there and it wouldn't hurt. Harrison and I dropped Madi off at Aunt Callie's and went to the hospital. (How happy we are to have Aunt Callie live so close. She helps us out a lot.)

Spencer met us there and we were taken right in to the Echo room. The nurse/tech weighed and measured Harrison and then let him pick a movie to watch during the procedure. He chose Cars. We weren't surprised, he's a little obsessed with Lightning McQueen at the moment. The nurse started the movie and then Han started getting worried. He was trying to be so brave but his little chin was quivering so I asked him if he wanted to hold hands and he nodded. The Echo is like an ultrasound of the heart. They look from all angles and listen and take lots of pics. The patient is supposed to be as still as possible and Han did great!! When it was finished, we were taken into another room to wait for the doctor. 

Dr. Jou came in and did a physical exam, listening to Harrison's chest for a very long time. He then told us that his murmur sounded higher in pitch, which usually indicates more leakage. He then went out of the room and read the Echo results. He came back in and told us that his condition had "progressed"...which sounds like a good thing but really it's not. It means that the valve has more narrowing and more leakage. 

We get to go back to see the doctor and had another Echo in 9 months. If it progresses at the same rate, Harrison will start having to have procedures done, eventually having valve replacement. However, the doctor told us that it could quit progressing and we would simply go back to annual check ups. We believe in miracles so we're thinking positively and praying for our handsome boy. 

This pic was taken the night before when Aunt Callie came to our house to cut hair. We couldn't believe Harrison's hair had gotten so tall!!

Are They Friends?

I get asked this questions often, by family, friends, and strangers. Most of the time, Harrison & Madison really enjoy playing together. They seem to understand each other and can translate for me if I'm struggling with their 2-year-old English. Madi is super sensitive towards Han and won't take a snack/treat unless she takes one for him too. I'm so glad they have each other to entertain while the boys are at school. I started an episode of "Super Why" on the computer for Harrison while I loaded the breakfast dishes this morning. A few minutes later, I walked in to this: