Sialolitha- What?

This is going to be one of those boring entries because I don't have any pictures. Sorry. The weekend before last was mostly spent running errands and my first mom/son date with Andrew. I decided to take each of the boys out alone on a date with mom each month so we can spend some one on one time together. Andrew decided he wanted to see a movie and we viewed TMNT. He had seen it previously but wanted to make sure that I got a chance to see it as well. It was ok but it was good to spend the time with him. Saturday they spent the day with their dad and I got some much needed shopping done alone without anyone bugging me and saying "Are we done yet?" I bought some new work shoes and finished up birthday shopping for Nicholas. That following Monday we went to my parents house to celebrate my father's birthday. We did it early since he was going to be gone on his actual birthday. We all pitched in to get him a new golf bag and we were all able to enjoy a ride in the back of his newly purchased 1946 chevy truck. It is his baby and he is really excited to have it restored to its original color and in good working condition. That same day I got this pain in my mouth like when you eat something real sour and your salivary glands chench up, well that pain just never went away. Since I had experienced this before several years ago I figured it was the same, a Saialolithiasis, a salivary stone. Tuesday when I got to work I had an x-ray taken of the area and sure enough that is what it was. I called that afternoon to the oral surgeons office to have it taken out on Friday so I wouldn't have to miss any work. As the hours grew on the more and more painful it became. Wednesday when I woke up my face was swollen and I was in a fair amount of pain. I managed through most of work that day but left about an hour early because I just couldn't function any longer. I got a Rx for an antibiotic and some pain med and went home to rest. I was in so much pain I just wanted to die. My amazingly wonderful mom came over that evening to stay with me and dad gave me a blessing. The medications were taking effect and I was able to get some sleep that night. Mom and dad were leaving out of town so mom made arrangements with my visiting and home teachers and the family to take care of me and the boys. Friday I had the stone taken care of and spent the next few days really drugged up. Monday night the boys and I were back home and we spent the 24th of July just watching movies and relaxing. I went to work on Wednesday and Thursday and did really well. I am out of pain and pretty much back to normal. Thank you Thank you to all of those who helped me during this time. I am truely very blessed with wonderful family and friends. I still have more stones in my jaw and need to decide if I should have them taken out as a preventative measure, wait until they cause pain again or just hope they will sit dormant and not cause any problems in the future. Things like this really make me greatful for the health that my children and I enjoy. It is truely a blessing not to take for granted. Hope you all are doing well. Until next time.

It's So Hot, But We Are Having Fun

Well I guess I had better catch up since I've been a slacker and didn't make a post last week. We had a wonderful 4th of July. The boys and I were treated with a pancake breakfast by our wonderful neighbor Jan. We then watched the Murray parade right outside of our apartment. With the help of my screams Andrew was able to get quite a bit of candy, which made the the hot weather more bearable. Then we met up with mom, dad and Aunt Nae and drove up the canyon to Silver Lake. I brought along some binoculars for the boys to use and they were able to see a few of the sights up close and personal. Mom gave us the tour of the small visitors center where we were able to make animal tracks in the sand and try to identify their poop. Yes they had different kinds of rubber poop to look at. There were also some very old pictures of the area when it was originally settled, which I really enjoyed. We had a picnic and made our way back home for some relaxation before the evening of fireworks. The boys and I did some poppers, snakes and sparklers. Andrew said that this was his best 4th of July ever. We then sat out on the lawn and had front row seats for the amazing display of wonder and color. We all had a most enjoyable day together. That Friday evening mom and dad accompanied us to the theater where we enjoyed the latest Pixar movie, Ratatouille. It was a very cute movie and the boys liked the part best where the cook said, "I killed a man with my thumb". Of course, if it is violent they are into it. Saturday the boys had a day with their dad and I spent the day catching up on domestic duties and getting some shopping done. It felt good to get caught up on some things and have some alone time.

This weekend started off with a trip to Utah Lake to ride on Dr. Liddell's boat. Dr. Liddell is one of my employers and he invited his employees and their families to his private club to hang out and enjoy the water.

Here is Dr. Liddell's dog Hobbs. He was very friendly and especially enjoyed it when we were eating cake, hoping someone would share.


Nicholas and Andrew with Dr. Liddell's wife, Corinne. They had a golf cart to get back and forth from the trailer pad to the boat dock.


This is Dr. Liddel's boat. It is a Nautique and about 24 feet long. He is very proud of his boat and we had a very fun time sharing it with him.


Nicholas and Andrew playing in the Lake. The water was about 85 degrees, which felt wonderful in the 101 degree weather. The water is really murky looking because it is so shallow, 10-15 feet at the deepest. There were hardly any other boats out that day so we had lots of room to move around and have fun.



Saturday we finished our errands and went to the Crane's and enjoyed their pool. Again it was good to be in the 85 degree water with the 100+ degree weather outside. The cousins had lots of fun splashing around and being silly together.





Here is Caleb showing off his cheesy grin.


Carmen sprayed the tramp with water and the boys had a blast slipping and sliding all over trying not to cause any serious injuries.




Caleb's scary face.

Swimming and Hiking

The last couple of weeks Nicholas and Andrew have been taking swimming lessons. Their teacher Melissa is the daughter of a family in our ward who taught them in her parents back yard pool. The boys responded well to her and had lots of fun. Nicholas enjoys the freestyle (ice cream scoops) stroke best and Andrew just took off with a natural flare to the butterfly (dolphin tail, bird wings) stroke.










Boys being boys. Dad Foutz is building a fairly large workshop in his backyard. The dirt pile from digging the hole is still there and attracts little boys like bees to honey. Here they are playing in the mud.


Saturday morning the boys and I drove up Big Cottonwood Canyon to Silver Lake and enjoyed walking around the boardwalk, climbing around the mountain and enjoying the wildlife and beautiful scenery.




Can you see the Mickey Mouse Ears?





Nicholas' Feet


Beaver Dam






pictures of the beautiful wildflowers. Of course being a girl, I had to take

Temples and Haircuts

Friday night the Crane's and Ashton's headed down to Central Utah to watch the Mormon Miracle Manti Pagent. The JW Foutz's went down earlier and saved us some seats. Caleb and the "Three Muskateers" made themselves comfortable and we started out on our journey.



Since the boys were starving and on their last breath of life we stopped in Payson at MickyD's. All 4 boys were able to recieve the coveted "Chicken Joe" toy from the movie "Surf's Up".


Even before we got to the city you could see the temple way far off in the distance, letting us know that we were finally almost there. As we approached the little town there arose one of the most wonderful buildings around. I'd never seen the Manti Temple before and was marveled at how amazingly beautiful it was. The unique architecture and lovely golden brick were definatly a site to behold.




Here we are with our snacks and blankets waiting for the show to start. Picture taking was prohibited during the preformance so that is why I don't have any. The pagent was enjoyable although being a late starting time of 9:30, Nicholas and Andrew did fall asleep and missed the last half of the show. They did see the Lamenite/Nephite battle and really liked that alot.


Saturday afternoon our neighbors got out the slip and slide and pool and we all enjoyed some time playing in the water to stay cool. I got into a water gun fight with the neighbor boy and all of the boys took turns making sure the mom's stayed wet and cool in the heat of the sun. Here is Nicholas relaxing in the pool.


Saturday afternoon Mom and Dad graceously agreed to tend the boys while I attended the temple. Since the Jordan River Temple, which I usually go to was closed for cleaning, I went down to Utah County and enjoyed the simple elegance of the Mt. Timpanogos Temple. I love the different textures of glass and splashes of color in the windows. It truly is a beautiful temple.


While I was in the temple Dad gave the boys a much needed hair cut. Here are the cheesy grins showing off their summer cuts.