After the Pizza Ranch tonight we decided to take Lucas in to Urgent Care. There seems to be a pattern of us going to Urgent Care late in the night and closing the place down. Lucas hasn't been himself the past few days, has a horrible cough, wheezy and crackly, and a low fever. I took him in and the doctor started checking a few things out and kept giving Lucas a funny look like he was really concentrating on him. Now looking back he must have been trying to just listen to him breathe. He said his left ear looked a little infected, but there was too much wax (can someone please help me out and give me some pointers on how to keep ear wax build up from happening?!). He said he didn't like what he heard, it wasn't normal, and that he wanted to check his oxygen level, have a chest x -ray taken, and a Neb treatment.

Those of you who have had to have your baby or toddler have a chest x -ray taken know how awful it is. You feel so bad seeing them strapped in that thing with their arms up and smashed face. ;( Lucas was not happy with all of the prodding, pricking, and testing. We went back in the room to have the Neb treatment while the doctor waited and looked at the x -rays.

Lucas HATED the Neb treatment. He screamed the whole time and I had a hard time keeping him still and keeping the mask close enough to his face so he would breathe it in. I had three different people come open the door and ask if everything was OK because he was screaming so loud. They say it's a good thing when they cry though because it opens everything up even more. The doctor came back in and said his oxygen level went up a little with the Neb treatment so he wanted me to continue doing those for a few days, every 6 hours. He showed me the x-ray and told me he didn't like what he saw in the left lung, there was a cloudy area that shouldn't have been there. He said Lucas has Bronchiolitis. He told me I have an important job (ummm....OK) and gave me strict orders.....1. Do the Neb treatments every 6 hours, 2. Give him the antibiotic that was prescribed, 3. Watch him closely, 4. Keep him hydrated, and 5. Call back in the morning to get an appointment with our family doctor in the next couple of days to check in. I was thinking to myself, is that all?

We again, closed down the place. They were so nice and helpful and I know how much they are probably cussing behind closed doors for keeping them so late. ;) I dropped Lucas off at home and then went to go get all the things I needed at the only pharmacy open late enough. Here starts the joyous routine.....

The poor boy has been coughing like crazy in his sleep....

Not to mention Nolan has an icky cough, Matt still isn't feeling well, and Connor has thrown up twice. When it rains it pours. We are the house of broken down things (dryer, faucet, freezer, etc...) and sickness right now!

Happy 4th Birthday Noleyman!!!

Well, Nolan gave in and decided to turn 4!

Here is his last sleep as a 3 year old.

Coming through the streamers - 4 and proud.

I asked him if he felt like a 4 year old and felt older. He told me, "Not yet, but after I open my presents I bet I will".

I love this one of my boys (you can really see Lucas's bumps, scrapes, and bruises though). The brotherly birthday love.

For supper Nolan chose to go to the Pizza Ranch....mostly because of the video games.;)

Grandma and Grandpa, Diane, and Kristin and the girls were able to join us.

The birthday boy playing a game.

He chose chocolate pudding for his dessert.

I'm guessing he enjoyed it. ;)

Getting birthday wishes on the phone from those that we didn't get to see (thank you for calling him everyone - he thought he was pretty special!).

I'm 4 everyone!!!

Nolan's favorites right now:

Color: Pink

Number: 140

Sport: Baseball

Game: Memory

Book: David Goes to School

Show: Pokemon

Song: Everybody Take It Off by Kesha

Wii game: Sonic All Stars Racing Mario Cart

Food: Cereal

Drink:Sunny D

Hobby: play outside & Pokemon battle

Animal: Cheetah

Candy: M&M

Friends: Owen, Garrett, Jacob, Connor, Lucas

Connor says: Nolan I really like playing Pokemon with you and trading cards. You make me laugh.

Jacob says: I like you. I like playing Sonic on the Wii with you and playing Pokemon. We are silly together. You're cool Nolan.

Oh Noleyman. Life is never dull with you. You keep us on our toes. You are a very spirited child. Every morning I wait to see how you get out of bed, smiling and laughing, or crabby and mad. You have a laugh and a smile that can make anyone do anything for you. You're eyes sparkle when you smile and laugh. You have a talent for getting in trouble and then giving that smile and those eyes....and it makes people forget that you were doing something you weren't supposed to. It is hard for people to keep a straight face when you are naughty. ;) You love to have your back tickled, and I love that I get to do that. You try to hard to keep up with your older brothers, and do a darn good job at it. You give them a run for their money. You are also so great with Lucas. I love hearing the two of you laugh as you chase around the house, or he is trying to "hit you with the pillow". I'm so glad you decided to turn 4, though I do still wish time didn't go by so quickly. You are already way too independent. I am sad when you don't need me so much, but so proud of you being able to so much on your own. You know what you want....that's for sure. ;)

We love you so much and cannot wait to see what the world has in store for you, and what you have in store for the world. ;) It's going to be great.

Happy birthday bud!

Couples shower and Bridal shower

Last weekend was full of showers. And I'm not talking rain. I'm talking wedding showers. My dad's side always puts on a couple's shower which is fun so the guys can be involved. My mom's side always puts a shower on for all generations of ladies and then special friends. Both are always fun.

The couple's shower is always full of fun games. It's always a mystery and on every one's mind as to what games we are going to play. Everyone is such good sports about it and participates.

The first one was one from Minute To Win It and involved a straw and some noodles. My team won (the bride's)! ;) Woo hoo.

The second game involved a straw and an M&M. My team also won this but we had switched around a little so I was on the groom's team. Woo hoo again.

Last, we did the game that has now found it's way into every couple's shower. A spoon tied to fishing line has to make it up and down the whole row of team members and then back. It's hilarious! We started this one about 5 years ago and do it every time. Some of us have found some strategies that work.....

The bride's team won that one....and I was not on that team. Boo hoo.

The aunts on (mom's sisters and sister - in-law) put the ladies shower on. Here they are with the bride.

It's always so nice to get together and visit. Diane has recieved some really nice gifts. Fun fun.

It was kind of fun this shower....I would watch most of the girls (my cousins) chase their daughters around.....and I had no one to chase.....the one good thing about having all boys huh?! I get to go to showers ALONE. ;) ;) j/k

Life in between all the chaos

Between all the crazy things scheduled we are also trying to have a life here at home....

Nana gave Jacob and Nolan some butterfly nets and a butterfly cage (hanging net) for their birthdays, and with it came a form to send in to have some larvae sent to you. These lovely things below started out tinier than they are already and have been eating and growing. We are waiting for them to crawl up the dish and hang so that their chrysalis form. Then the butterflies will lay eggs and it will start all over again. It will be fun for the boys to watch the whole cycle. They are pretty excited.

Lucas is still a monkey and his newest trick is climbing and pulling himself up on the chairs and then onto the table. We can’t take our eyes off him. He is pretty beaten up from daycare because he has fallen or something has fallen on him daily. He is such a maniac and thinks he is older than he really is.

He got a new swing for his birthday and it has finally been nice enough to put it up. The pictures are not very good of him but he LOVES it. He runs to it, reaches up, and grunts to let us know he wants to go in, every time he’s outside.

We had a boy come and babysit the boys this past Saturday while we were at the couples shower (next post!). The boys were so excited about it. They had a blast, and Andrew did great. Plus he lives close by and we'll have a few years with him. We are all very excited about that.

Connor is such a little responsible man though....he said he helped Andrew out a lot (not that Andrew needed it, but because Connor felt like he had to!). The kid takes on so much......like I've mentioned before....sometimes I just want him to be a kid. It was cute getting the report from him the next morning.

Jacob had another birthday last weekend. It was for the girl Morgan that I have mentioned had a crush on Jacob and makes it blatantly known. Well, the guys had to go shopping for her without any girl help. They did great. Jacob picked out a Barbie doll and Hello Kitty stuffed thing because he said he remembers her wearing a Hello Kitty shirt to school. ;)

Bachelorette Party

Saturday, April 2nd, Natey and Diane had their bachelor and bachelorette parties. Can I just say I'm old. ;)

We had a great time. The ladies headed to Stillwater where we started the afternoon off by visiting the Saint Croix Vineyards and tasting some wines while taking a tour.

Then we went to dinner at Smalleys and had a great meal.

Then we went back to the hotel for games and gifts and then out dancing the night away.

It was a fun time. Like I said, the bachelor party was the same night, so Matt went there. They did a bunch of guy stuff….bowling, yard games, final four March Madness, placing bets for fun…..sounds like they also had fun.

San Diego –Day 4 –3/29

We started the day with Matt heading over to his trade show (boo hoo!) and me sleeping in and then drinking my coffee and enjoying the view…this was out one window….

this was out the other……

Matt was able to get me a badge to come in and see the show for a little bit. So I walked around and checked all the booths out. It's always fun to see "his world".

I left Matt to work and I headed back down to the Gaslamp district….

Then down to Seaport village to finish some shopping for the boys. There was so much to watch and see in this area I could have stayed there for hours….

However I decided to go enjoy this for a little bit…..(those are my feet!)

Thursday night Matt had a work party for some of their clients. They rented out the Hard Rock Cafe for the night. That was quite an experience, but fun to see. Thursday morning I headed back home.....my parents brought the boys to the airport to pick me up and then we went out to eat for supper in the cities.

It was an A.M.A.Z.I.N.G trip, very needed, and wonderful to spend time with Matt. Obviously we missed the boys, but it was good for us. We would mention many times throughout the trip "oh...the boys would love this" or "this would be so fun with the boys"......

There are so many adult things to do in San Diego, but we can't wait to go back with the boys and do the kid stuff (the zoo, Sea World, the Wild Animal Park, the ships, the beaches.....). ;)

Dan Diego - Day 3 – 3/28

The first two days were pretty great up to Wednesday, however this day was incredible. We rented a car and drove up the coast and did a little site seeing.

We started driving along the water and went to Point Loma peninsula. This was interesting and there is a ton of history. The peninsula forms a good protective barrier to San Diego bay and therefore was a perfect military reserve way back when (I enjoy history a ton more now that I am out of school. I wish I would have paid more attention back then because when I travel some place I enjoy learning about and seeing the history). This is why San Diego is perfect for the Naval Base. There are many remains from old fire control stations, searchlight bunkers, a radio station, a light house, etc....

They now have a military cemetery that covers a good portion of the peninsula. It is quite a site.

While we were up there we happened to notice a ship from the Naval base going out to sea.

Not sure how often they do this, but it was cool to watch.

Up there we also learned about Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo, the first explorer to set foot on the West Coast of the United States.

The Point Loma Lighthouse

Around the peninsula you could drive down to tide pools.

After spending some time there we continued along the coast and stopped at some beaches (Ocean Beach, Pacific Beach, Mission Beach, La Jolla Cove) people watched, gawked at the beautiful homes, and walked the piers and boardwalks.

The Children's Pool in La Jolla was neat. It is protected by a seawall and was originally created for a fully protected swimming area but has now turned into a home for sea lions. I couldn't believe how many there were, all over.

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The water was beautiful.

In La Jolla, this place called George’s on the Cove was recommended to us. It was yummy.

It had a beautiful terrace view…. I had a portabella panini and black bean, broccoli, and roasted chicken soup and Matt and had some more fish tacos.

After our bellies were full we headed east inland a little and made a stop at the Orfila Vineyards.

We sat under a cute trellis over looking the vineyard and enjoyed tasting some wines.

We headed back to check into our new hotel for Matt’s trade show and met up with some of Matt’s coworkers who got in earlier that day and had been setting up for the trade show. We stayed at the Hilton Bayfront. It was a really nice hotel.

A few of us wanted to go have seafood again so we headed back down to the Fish Market. We saw a beautiful sunset on the way there.

We had to wait a few minutes for a table, so we went and sat out on the deck and lucked out because right as we walked outside, fireworks were being let off the USS Midway next door.

After dinner we headed back to the Gaslamp district and went to the Shout House again, and then ended the night with some dancing.