Back To School

As always I have to play catch up for this blog.  There is so much going on I don't know where to start.
 Today is the first day that I am ALONE in 18 years for a school day.  This is quite emotional for me.  I'm not able to concentrate on doing the million things I had planned on yet.  Josh started Monday as a Sophomore at Combs.  Dallin is at work until he starts MCC on Aug 20th.  The younger 4 went off to Legacy Traditional today with quite a flair.  There was crying and fits and they weren't all from me.  Skirt too short-yes to the knee it must be even with leggings and yes, you've grown since we bought it a month ago- a backpack fiasco since the new one didn't come in the mail yet and the old one just wouldn't do today and a schedule fot 7th Grade not available, even though we went last night to get it.  Missed Flag for Ben waiting for Brookly's schedule to get fixed. She had been placed in Algebra and not Course 3 Pre-Algebra.  You really need to know the basics in this to build on, so her teacher recommended Course 3 even though she tested into Algebra.  She also had drama that she was given Computers, not Choir/Drama.  The Vice Principal said they did the best they could and they wouldn't change that but I asked if it was available with the other switch to help her out.  She left it on her desk last night and noone knew where we could find it even though we were there early this morning with assurance that it would be done before Flag.   Finally had to leave Brookly to find it herself and run to Ben's class.  Poor girl, rough first day of 7th Grade for sure. We were on the wrong playground for Ben's class and said goodbye to Jarom as we ran back around the school and just missed his class going in.  They had already done Flag Ceremony and yes, he missed his first one of 1st Grade.  I did walk back and get a pic of him at his desk with his supplies though. 

Ben is so excited for 1st Grade!

How do I let this boy go?

Jarom is ready for a great 5th Grade year!

Brennen is an 8th Grade Wonder!

The boys ready but still missing one.

There they are at school.

Brookly ready now for 7th Grade.

Off goes Ben...

I had to go see him in class since he missed the opening ceremony.

So I'm home feeling lonely and wondering how it could have been a little smoother.  I hope the teachers need me in class very soon.

What's Up

Still no test results for Jarom.  Tomorrow is District Science Fair and we hope to see Dallin run in one of his last track meets.  had to cancel Josh counselor and 2 piano students to be able to make it there.

No More Primary Secretary

I was released Sunday the 25th as the Primary Secretary and called as the Bear leader with my friend Wendy Hargrave as the assistant.  It will be fun but I'm sad I miss Jarom as a Webelos.  They haven't had active Bear leaders for at least the 8 months we've lived here so these boys need attention too.
Today was a bit overwhelming with all the things going on but I'm sure I'll be blessed to work it out.

Science Fair 2012

Brennen's Propeller Size Project

Brookly's Magnetism on Plants Project

Jarom's airplane launcher project

After months of work this is the final result of the science fair.  Brennen placed 3rd overall for Jr. High and will go to District tomorrow. Brookly was in the final few but didn't place and Jarom's just looks awesome!  They worked hard and we are glad to be done!



A Visit from Rita

Grandma and Grandpa Gardner enjoying the sun

Wes and Nicole with Rita

Crazy kids convinced Eric to hop in the pool with them.

Vicki and Verle's crew that came

Ben was a little chilled

Maybe getting in wasn't such a good idea

Saturday March 3rd

Karisa, Vicki, Rita and Karen

Rita came to town and we decided to throw a famiy BBQ!  We had a great time and loved visiting with everyone!  The kids jumped in the pool and convinced Eric to get in with them.  It was a wonderful time of reconnecting with family and relaxing.





Jarom's Tests

Jarom at PHX Children's Hospital for EEG

March 16th.  All hooked up and ready to sleep:)

Sometime in December Jarom began having awful headaches.  We are hoping they are just migraines.  Dr. Bhakoo ordered an MRI in January and the results showed an enlarged right ventricle and a shadow he didn't like and it was the recommendation of the radiologist to see a neurologist.  Finally we got an appointment on Feb 28th with Dr. Alarcio and she felt he needed another MRI  to compare with contrast in it and then an EEG.  This is the EEG over Spring Break which is good because he had to be sleep deprived for this test.  He went to bed at 12:15am and got up at 4:38am because our alarms didn't go off right.  He was plenty sleep deprived and so were we:)  We are waiting for the results of this test.

Today, March 21st, was his set of MRI's.  He was excited to miss school and nervous about the IV for the contrast.  We got to PHX Children's Specialty Clinic and the tech told us he may not have to have the contrast if the radiologist thought the MRI looked good.  This is different than what Dr. Alarcio told us so we'll see how this plays out.  After about 25 mninutes in the MRI Jarom began to cry and bite his lip.  He finally pushed the emergency button and said his head hurt terribly.  After getting him to lay back down he pushed the button again a little while later.  The tech was patient but told him he had to wait for the end of the 3 minutes to finish the 15 minute series or restart.  This time I gave him ibuprofen and they brought him juice and I held the cold cup to his head but he didn't feel much better. 

The whole time I was praying he could do it and when he said his own prayer he felt peace and knew he'd make it even though it was painful.  It was very hard to watch and not be able to take the pain away.  The tears slid down the sides of his face as he lay there.  My prayers were for him to be able to stand the pain so we didn't have to do this again.  Sweet boy.  I love my Jarom!

Jarom was able to finish and the radiologist thought he didn't need contrast.  We hope this is the end of the MRI's.  We are waiting for these results now as well.

He began to feel better after lunch and did go back to school.

2012 Queen Creek North Stake Trek

Before:  Josh and Dallin

After:  Josh and Dallin

A little dirtier and exhausted but spiritually fed.

March 15-17

What a blessing having the Stake interested in the Youth is!  Dallin and Josh were blessed with 2 different experiences with Trek with our old Apache Junction Stake and now here in San Tan Valley.  While there were definitely things they liked from one or the other and others they didn't they would agree it was a great experience and I'm grateful for the bonding with our own ward members it brought this time.  Bishop Hyde said both our boys worked hard and he was impressed.  The Women's Pull needed explained to the boys better this time so they weren't goofing off but our boys tried to catch the spirit of it. 

The main thing our boys learned at each Trek was that they can do hard things!  Rely on the Lord and together you can do anything.

Daddy Daughter Sweetheart Dance

Feb. 17, 2012

What a sweet night for Brookly and her Daddy!

They went on a date to Texas Roadhouse

and then to the dance at Legacy where they had a great time together!

Amazing Creative Ben

Ben's awesome gun he made out of cutting and gluing paper strips.  Notice the rolled pieces and the GPS on top he says.

These pictures are from Ben's book report on A Car's Christmas.  He's amazing!  His teacher asked if we helped to draw them.  He's only in Kindergarten.  Each picture took hours:)

Science Projects Due Tomorrow!!

Brennen's Propeller Project

Jarom's Launching Project

Brookly's Plants with Magnets

Oh Joy!! Tomorrow the last of the 2 months of writing parts of this project stuff is due!! All that is left is the big presentation boards for next week and the science fair!

The kids have worked hard and I have spent many hours typing and revising.

Brennen's Baseball Tryout

Brennen didn't make the baseball team.  We are generally Ok when our kids don't make what they try for when it's a fair test, but he had to do the drills for tryouts with the sun in his eyes and the rest of the team got to tryout without the sun in their eyes.  This definitely affected his catching and hitting numbers.  Just not quite fair.  Love this boy!

Dallin's Car Accident

We feel so blessed!  The damage to the car may be expensive but Dallin is priceless!  This could have been such a different end.  When I saw a funeral procession yesterday I pulled over and cried.  I felt bad for the family who lost a loved one and it could have been us.On Saturday Dallin was driving home from the Ragnar race.  From Ragnar's website this is the description. 
Ragnar is the overnight running relay race that makes testing your limits a team sport. A team is made up of 6-12 individuals; each individual runs 3 legs. The legs of the race vary in difficulty and distance, from 3-8 miles, allowing elite and novice runners to run together. Over 2 days and 1 night, teams run across 200 miles of the country’s most scenic terrain. Pair that with crazy costumes, inside jokes, a great finish line party and unforgettable stories. Some call it a slumber party without sleep, pillows or deodorant. We call it Ragnar.
Dallin and his friends from Skyline High decided to do this a while ago.  Swagnar was their team.  President McKinley was driving a van we thought Dallin would be riding in so we thought it would be OK for Dallin to ride with the team as a volunteer at one of the stations.  We did not realize he would stay up all night following the van in his car and then try to drive home.  I wish I would have checked this out more thoroughly but as Dallin reminded us hindsight is 20/20.  Dallin told us the night before that he would be driving to Wickenburg then parking and just driving from there home.  Not that he'd be driving all night and then try to drive home.
So after leaving at 3am the day before and having very little catnaps in between he left Ragnar to take home his friend, Chase Anderson and then come home.  He fell asleep in the left lane on Red Mountain freeway and went into the median and hit several poles and cables and then drove to a stop.  Because he and Chase were relatively unhurt he called Wes and then called Mr. Bridgers, the driver of the team van that left after them.  Neither Wes nor Mr. Bridgers thought to call police at this point.  Wes was at counseling with Brookly and I was at Stake Women's Conference.  As I got to the table for the luncheon as was literally the last in line I was worried a little about the fact that the food was gone until I got a call that changed our course of the day.  Wes told me Dallin had been in an accident and was Mr. Bridgers was bringing him home.  They ended up going to unload and then Dallin went to Brandon's to wait for Wes instead.  Wes asked me to call AAA and they said they couldn't do anything without us at the car.
As I tried to sort out the few details we knew Wes suggested we call Tyler Hyer our friend from Ocotillo Ward who is a cop.  We did and then we called Mesa PD.  As we called them and were on the phone they called us to tell us the car was being impounded.  We got a call from the insurance and then another from DPS to Wes that instructed him to bring Dallin down to Skyline to meet.  The officer told Wes that he'd talked to Dallin's probation officer and would be as lenient as he could be.  Wes left out this detail as he rushed off to meet with them.  I just knelt and prayed that Dallin wouldn't be arrested after calling Bro Hyer myself and asking about what may happen.  Dallin could be charged with the criminal damage as a Class 2 Misdemeanor and he left the scene. 
Blessed we were greatly that Dallin is 17 and that when they got there they quickly cleared up that Dallin was not on probation for disorderly conduct as the officer said when they arrived.  He was a cowboy type and was kind.  He only cited Dallin civilly for the damage to the freeway and of course a ticket and traffic school for failing to control his vehicle to avoid a collision.  That we can handle.  I had pictured him being arrested and was pretty worried.  The Lord truly watches over us and blesses us in our time of need. 
I got a call at home from Progressive and they said we'd sort it out Monday.
So Monday Bro Wilkins, in our Bishopric and our Home Teacher, went with his trailer to Scottsdale and Dallin drove Wes's truck to school and picked up Wes from work early to get to Scottsdale where the officer told them the car would be.  It wasn't.  They had to go to Mesa and pay $224 which was twice the cost they were told because the police called to impound the car.  Craziness!  This car is so beat up that Wes says it may not be economically feasible to fix it.  We put $800 in it last week for a new clutch.  At that point last week I said it was time for a different car but Wes wanted one more repair to get Dallin through graduation.  It wouldn't have made a difference except if it was a nicer car we may have had more than liability and had some sort of replacement cost.  Who knows what this will do to our rates.  The insurance guy won't tell us until it renews in 6 months.  Oh joy! 
Through it all we are most grateful Dallin is just sore and alive!! It will all work out!

Just Keep A Goin

Jarom had a great time making this marshmallow catapult at Scouts today. 

You'd never know how often he's lying in his bed with an awful headache.

Love this boy!

So, gratefully we early voted because today was as crazy as ever. I realized at 9pm last night when I finally had a chance to look at the Neurologist info I had written 2 months ago that I never got the MRI copy that they requested at least 24 hours before this appointment. With Dallin's car accident this weekend I just didn't think of it until last night before I needed it. I really didn't know if they would let Jarom be seen. I just said a prayer that it would work out.

This morning at 8am, Jarom, Ben and I went to AZ Tech Radiology and pleaded our cause for a cd of the MRI. They require 24 hour notice for a copy of MRI usually. The staff there was amazing and within 20 minutes we were on our way to the 9am appointment with the neurologist. Dr. Alarcio also was gracious enough to still see us after waiting 2 months. What a blessing!

Dr Alarcio looked at the cd with us and wrote down his history. She showed us exactly where the enlargement is and the shadow they are worried about. She wants to repeat the MRI with contrast this time and do a MRV to check for blockages in his veins that would cause his symptoms.

MRV stands for magnetic resonance venography. It is an MRI studies of the blood vessels. MRVs are used to assess abnormalities in the blood vessels of patients with a history of stroke, aneurysm, heart disease, and atherosclerotic vascular disease.
Why might my doctor recommend an MRV?
If you experience frequent headaches, an MRV of the head may be recommended to detect or rule out blood clots in the brain. An MRV of the chest is used to detect blood clots or blockages in the main arterties leading to the heart, and an MRV of the abdomen checks for blood clots or blockages in the liver.

She also ordered an electrical impulse test, not sure if it's an EEG. She ordered blood work and he did that today. She will follow up with these test results in 6 weeks. so unless he gets much worse he just continues to deal with the headaches for now and has to keep a headache diary until then. Poor kid!

We are so grateful to have the help Jarom needs and did I mention we are grateful Dallin is alive:)
Dallin's car cost $224 to get out of police impound after chasing from Scottsdale where the cop told us to go, to Mesa where the car actually was. Twice the quoted cost Saturday. The car is in pretty bad shape and looks unrepairable to Wes. Just put $800 new clutch in last week. Nice.
The court date for Dallin's other stress is April 11th.
Jarom goes back to Neurologist April 18th.
That's 3 right? Time for things to look up. We do count our blessings every day and keep going in faith.

Time and the Atonement Heal All

Prayers today for my dear friend Joni as she goes to the airport to bring home her son, James,  from a mission he's only been on for a few months.  He was having severe flashbacks of when he was 3 yrs and played with the gear shift while his dad was under the car working.  He heard his dad scream and his dad did die.  Only recently did he remember himself playing with the gearshift.  He had always remembered the scream.  After the 3 sessions the church allows on a mission it was determined he needs an honorable release and he comes home today.  They say it's PTSD and he'll need time to recover.  This is one of Dallin's best friends who he loves dearly and so do we.  James is in our thoughts and prayers today as we wait for time and the atonement to heal him and his family.

You know, sometimes all we can do is pray and wait on the Lord.

Snow Fun

Pictures are worth 1000 words! 

We went up to Pinetop after Sacrament on Christmas Sunday and this is what we did that week up there!