Vaccines and Disabilities

Amara got her vaccines recently so now she's all ready to start kindergarten! She knew the shots were necessary and she didn't act nervous until the nurse came in with the 4 needles.

Then her smile transformed into a frown. She turned to me and said, "Mom, can you hold my hand?"
I prepared myself for the worst, remembering her sister's reaction to her kindergarten shots- it was a thrashing fest that caused both me and her dad to hold her still while the nurse jabbed her with syringes which only got the nurse some decent kicks to the abdomen from our 5-year-old wild child.  Many screams and tears accompanied that episode.

So, when Amara just wanted to hold my hand, I calmly reached around her, ready to steady her body from thrashing.  But then she said, "Mom, don't hold me.  Just hold my hand." Okay...  The nurse then asked me if I could hold both her hands, y'know, just in case.  I obeyed.  Amara sat up at the edge of the table and wanted to watch the whole thing.  Again, I wasn't so sure she should, but tried to let her do things the way she wanted to.  Then the shots began.

I expected her to squeeze my hands and tense up and start to cry.  Nope.  She remained calm, didn't even give a little squeeze, just watched each shot go into her legs.  At one point, I think she let out a tiny whimper, but there were no tears, no screams.  Just bravery at it's finest.  Wow.  2 shots in each leg and for her medal of honor, 4 blue and red Snoopy bandaids and a sticker.

Before the vaccines were administered, Uncle Mike (Dr. Lauret to the community) did the well child examination, then began to fill out her kindergarten papers.  He was going down the list and checking things off, "No diseases, check...  No special medications, check...  No disabilities, check..."

Lily, sitting next to me, turns and says, "Well, she does have one disability."

"What?"  I asked with a little alarm that I had forgotten about something.

"Well, she can't fly."  Lily said matter-of-factly, followed by a joking smile.

I affirmed that she indeed could not fly, to which Uncle Mike responded, "Yes.  That's a very common disability.  In fact, probably the most common disability I come across!" 

That's my Lily for you.  She loves to joke.

There's A Hot Fire In The Old Town Tonight! Christensen Reunion Day 1, July 2, 2012

Dear Christensens,

We regret to inform you that your beautiful reunion cabin, including the zipline, is under mandatory evacutation due to a wild fire in the area.  However, where there is suspense, there is adventure to be found.  Your new home until further notice will be the quaint town of Alton, Utah.  

Sincerely, the Firefighters and Owners of your Cabin Rental

Well, it may not have been what we were expecting after a 6 hour drive to Southern Utah, but our family dutifully drove an extra few miles down the road to the town of Alton, Utah, where the number of farm animals surpasses the actual population.  Okay, that may be a made up statistic, but I actually wouldn't be surprised if it were true.  Afterall, the stop signs there speak to the horses, not the drivers.  See for yourself-

And yes, ALL the stop signs were actually WHOA signs.  I gotta say, the town's first impression brought a smile to my face.  And I've got to admit, this reunion was an adventure and a fun one at that.  I was never worried that we wouldn't have a good time.  By nature, getting together with the Christensen clan results in enjoyment.  The lodging and amenities were not what we packed for, but it was really nice to see the people of Alton pull together to provide several sleeping pads and blankets for our group as well as a few pots and cooking utensils. 

As you can see, the Alton Town Hall was our home for a couple nights.  We had a basketball court as our main meeting place, with a stage and a few rooms around for people to sleep.  Our family enjoyed our stay here.   Admittedly, our family was lucky to be the first ones to use the only nice new air mattress (it smelled too vinyl-y for others in our group), so we didn't end up directly on the floor.  So, we were sleeping alright.  Too bad not everyone had that luxury.  It was also too bad that the smoke would settle into the town over night and was causing respiratory problems for a few in our group.  

The forest fire wasn't a good thing, but it sure made for some memorable moments this reunion and allowed us to get to know a town and their people that we wouldn't have had the opportunity to do otherwise!

My Sports Card

Lily's drawings tell intricate stories. I love looking at her thought-through details. The other day she gave me a card she had made on a piece of scrap paper. Amid the print, you can see her drawing of our family doing various activities, including her daddy walking on his hands backwards and me skateboarding with a dog pulling me. Then the flip side shows a gymnastics scene. Thanks to the Olympics, she's seen quite a few gymnasts flipping around on uneven bars and whatnot.

Amara's Horses

Amara is taking after her sister with her love of creating and drawing. A few months ago I received a drawing of a horse sketched with a dry red marker and my name carefully written in the corner of the page. It is adorable and it hangs proudly on my bedroom door with an inch of scotch tape.

Then a few days ago, Amara drew me riding a Pegasus over a rainbow. Her drawing of a horse figure has taken on a bit more form. Of course, it being a pegasus, look for the tiny wings out to its sides. So cute! And my name is penned carefully in the corner again.

Steve's First Prom, Our Night In Paris

I love this pic of us.  We totally look like a prom couple!

Our Young Women in our ward put together a really fun prom night for the adults.  They provided babysitting!!!  Additionally they made the night special with a fully decorated gym using the theme "A Night in Paris" (just like a real prom!), they made a backdrop for pictures, centerpieces on the tables, and had tasty refreshments, and even crowned a king and queen.  Steve has been to dances before, but not a formal prom.  We tried our best to match his tie to my dress, but we didn't have time to get a corsage and boutonniere. :) We had so much fun.  After Steve got warmed up, and stopped looking around to see who was watching him, we danced the night away like 2 ballerinas (minus the ballerinas and insert out-of-shape dancing bears)!  I've been to a few proms in my life, but this one was definitely the best.  And I know it was the best for Steve too.  Oh!  And I'm in love with my prom date.

Let's Celebrate 9 Years!

For our 9th anniversary, we didn't get each other traditional gifts of pottery or willow or leather.  Instead we spent time together for a couple days up in Salt Lake City (the best gift in my opinion).  Some of my favorite things from that getaway included the Gilgal Gardens, Ruth's Diner in Emigration Canyon, the Cheesecake Factory at City Creek, and the view from our room at the Anniversary Inn on 5th South.

We really did visit a lot of places in Salt Lake, but I only came away with pictures from about half of them, which is fine because most of the places we went we only spent a few minutes walking around, then went on to the next place.  Here's the pics I took:

Planetarium- Steve on the moon

Lani on Mars

A real rock from the moon.  Cool!

Our hotel

Those biscuits are famous.  Ever seen Diner's Drive-ins and Dives?

Our breakfast on the patio- so perfect.  And yes, I had fish and eggs.  And it was good.

Steve's Pecan Cinnamon Roll French Toast.  Crazy good.  Leave it to the Americans to  start the day with dessert.

Gilgal Garden is a little hidden public garden full of rock sculptures with deep meaning.  It's an intriguing place to spend some time.

Notice the head of Joseph Smith on the Sphinx.  You gotta see it in real life.

The hearts of the children turned to their fathers...

This is across from the Utah State Capitol Bldg.

The fountains in the background dance to music at the new City Creek Mall

These fountains were a like a mini version of the Las Vegas Bellagio fountain show.

Going to Cheesecake Factory for the first time... and not the last.

That novel is actually the menu.

We got 2 appetizers- Thai lettuce wraps and avocado egg rolls.

Steve's decadent peanut butter cup cheesecake

The happy couple at the City Creek Mall.

Happy Valley in June

 Back in June we took a trip to Happy Valley (that's Utah County for those unaware), aptly nick-named because it's full of my family and other splendid people that make you happy to be around.  June is when the Orem Summerfest is.  My dad is such an amazing individual and he can add "Orem City Astounding Parade Executive-Managing-Overseeing-Coordinating Authority" to his long resume of accomplishments, as he has put together the Summerfest parade for the past 2 years and will again next year.  YAY for all us parade goers!  He does such a great job at all he undertakes and has always been an impressive individual to try to emulate.  Wanna see his newly made-over basement space?  My sis-in-law Lyndsi was the brains behind the operation and with the help of other family members, this play room and office came together beautifully (see pics below).  Wish I had a better camera and that I took more pics, but here's what I captured with my Ipod cam.

 There's my daddy!!!  Love him!  And love this space.  My kids and all others that come over are going to be in kid-heaven.

Also during our stay, we made sure to play with some cousins.  We stayed with Joe and that was fun, but we sure missed his family (they were breathing in paradise in Hawaii).  It's so nice that our other cousins live so nearby, so we spent lots of time with Jax, Max, and Devon.  

We also visited with Steve's family.  We went to the park by his parents' house.

We also visited with Beverli and Eva (James and Tron were in Idaho).  It was so fun to meet their new family member, Ninja, a really cute and energetic border collie puppy.  Lily and Amara also got to play dress up with the myriad of costumes Eva pulled out.  My girls LOVED them!

Visiting Happy Valley wouldn't be the same without going out-to-eat with family.  We went to the Pizza Pie Cafe in Highland and there were smiles all around.

 I love watching Amara and Jaxon interact.  They're only 9 months apart and they just "get eachother."

We took a Saturday to help Joe with his "morning project"  ahem... others call it backbreaking, sweaty gruntwork.  I did what I could with my heart condition which means a whole lotta nuthin.  Actually, I watched Devon while my strong sister and husband helped Joe.  Lily and Amara were good snail hunters and they even caught a few that weren't dead yet.

 Notice how Joe is doing nothing while my husband is slaving away.  Just kidding.  Although I should mention that Super Steve did remove the majority of that pile of rocks lining the driveway that were maliciously scattered in the dirt strip while Joe and April took a scenic vacation to buy that mulchy-bark stuff.  You have no idea how heart-melting it is to see my hubby sweating away whilst yard-working.  I'm such a proud wife.  This picture is not a true "before" shot since they were in the middle of the project, but it still gives an idea of what they were working with.

 Lily spelled Devon with pretzel bits while I fed hungry Devon a lot of yogurt.  He didn't act ill all day, but after that feeding (dinner) he threw up at various intervals over the next hour.

 And right before dinner, the mostly finished project came to a close as the sun was setting.  I never knew Joe's side yard was that large, and it sure looks fancy now.  Joe treated us all to a DELICIOUS Thai take-out dinner from one of our favorite restaurants- Thai House in Lehi.

A couple days later, Steve and I took the girls to visit his parents and spend the night while we went on our anniversary date (a month late, but it's all good).  On the way, we redeemed a carwash coupon that I had won, and boy was that a cool carwash.  The girls got to spray soap onto cars that went through by using remote controls.  So fun!

Many thanks to Steve's wonderful parents for always being willing and ready to watch over our little ones.  We sure love them.