Bear Lake

Last week we went on the Francis Family annual Bear Lake camp out. It's something we look forward to every year...especially our kids. Russ's entire side of the family all go. It's alot of fun. We camp at Rendezvous Beach. The kids play all day at the lake making sand castles and swimming. The adults enjoy each others company, and alot of silliness occurs. Except for the mosquitoes, and a little bit of wind, it was perfect.



Joe buried up to his knees in the sand

How cute is she??


Christian, Kaden, and Justin buried in the sand


Anna, enjoying the water

It was so much fun...can't wait till next year!!

Anna's Hospital Stay

My sweet little Anna was hospitalized this week with a urinary tract infection that spread to her kidneys. This is her third UTI this year. She started complaining on Friday night that her back hurt. Saturday morning at about 2:30am, she woke up crying. I checked her temp, and it was about 102. On Saturday I took her to the after hours clinic (these things always happen on the weekend).The doctor on call gave her a shot of antibiotics, but expressed concern that she may not respond to them because she has had so much this year. He advised that if she got worse, to take her to the ER. Well, she got worse. We woke up Sunday to 106 temp! I rushed her to the ER and they admitted her for IV antibiotics. After day one in the hospital, she was still running a fever, which concerned the doctor. Day two, still has a fever. Day three, the same. Day four, Dr. Wilcox consulted a infection specialist, who advised him that she may continue to have a fever, even if the antibiotics were working. So, Dr. Wilcox let us go home, on the condition that if she got worse, we brought her back. Well, I'm so happy to report that she is so much better! No fever, no pain. Yay!!

Anna actually LOVED being in the hospital (aside from getting "pokies"). They made it such a positive experience. And she came home with so much loot!! A blanket, stuffed animals, a crown and wand, coloring books, fun pillow cases, ect... They had a playroom loaded with toys to play in and a nurse there who's only job is to play with the kids and make them happy. When it was time to go, Anna was sad. She wanted to stay. I was ready to sleep in my own bed.


Anna with her new blanket and bear


Coloring with her new fun pen


The magic wand the nurses made for her


This was when she was first admitted. She did NOT feel well


Having fun with Daddy

We're so grateful for all the concern and love that everyone showed us during this time. We also want to give a shout out to our awesome doctor, Dr. Wilcox, and all the wonderful nurses that took care of Anna. And one more GIGANTIC thanks to my mom, who took care of my kids, cleaned my house, and did ALL of my laundry. She's amazing and she made things so much easier for us. Thanks Mom!! We love you!!

Cafe' Rio Salad

Tonight I didn't cook. Russ took me to Cafe Rio for a Salad. I LOVE Cafe Rio salad. Especially the dressing. I think if it was possible, I would bathe in it. It's THAT good.

So Yummy!

Magic Hugs

So...I've been a slacker. I haven't posted anything for awhile. Well...that is going to change!! Starting today. I figured that I don't always have to post long, in depth epistles. Sometimes I may only post a couple lines. But, I really want to start keeping up with my blog.

On Monday, Russ had some small, outpatient surgery. Nothing serious. He has, however, been a little sore from it, so he has parked himself on the couch to recover. Anna has been very concerned about it all. She wants to be right by him, to make sure he is ok. Russ told her that her hugs were "magic" and that whenever he is in pain, if he gets a hug from her, it goes away. She has taken this quite seriously. Every ten minutes, Russ gets a "magic hug". If he ever expresses discomfort, Anna is there with her "magic hug". She is so worried about him and his well being. I think it's pretty awesome.



Oh ..and today is my Dad's birthday. HappyBirthday, Dad! I love you!!

Kate's Big Treat

Yesterday Kate, my 11 month old daughter, and I took a shower. I don't usually shower with my baby, but she needed one and so did I so I decided to kill two birds with one stone. When we were through, I got out, dried her off and then proceeded to go through my post shower ritual of eyebrow plucking and lotion slathering. While I was doing that, she crawled off , butt naked, to her bedroom and started playing with Anna's play kitchen, which has fun buttons to push that make fun sounds. I could easily hear her from the bathroom. After a while, I noticed that there wasn't any sound coming from her room anymore. Now, all you moms out there know that silence can be the worst thing you hear from you children, since it usually means they are getting into trouble. So, I poked my head around the corner into her room to see what she was doing. There was my Kate, smearing poop all over herself and the play kitchen. As I approached her she looked up and me and smiled an open mouth grin. I looked closer and saw that inside her mouth was a big blob of POOP!! Of coarse I screamed, which made her scream. I immediately scooped her up and ran for the bathroom. I washed her mouth out and had to give her another bath. It was a BIG mess. So, the moral of this story is : keep and eye on you kids, or you'll be in deep sh*%t!

Happy Labor Day!

Today is Labor Day. Yeah! What is labor day? I'll admit, I'm not educated on the origin of this holiday. The word "labor" is not one that I have enjoyed. Everything that I've been through that has to do with labor has not been pleasant. But, I'm assuming that Labor Day is a rest from our labor. So...yeah for labor day!

We went up to Logan again this weekend. It was the bachelorette party for Russ's sister, Britney. She's getting married on Sept. 5th to a great guy named Daniel Yates. He's a good fit for her and I think he fits into the family nicely. I remember what it was like to be young and in love and getting married. It was so fun and exciteing. I had NO idea what I was getting myself into, but it was a great time. And even though I'm not looking at everything through rose colored glasses anymore, my heart still skips a beat when Russ winks at me. And life is still an adventure. So, congrats to Britney! I think she and Daniel make a great couple and now her adventure can start.

My nephew Jacobs mission farwell was yesterday. I know this makes me sound old, but I still think of that kid as a three year old digging for Dinosaures in my moms back yard. He was such a cute little kid. He was the first grandchild in my family, and as a 13 year old girl, I was smitten with him. He has grown into an impressive young man and I know he will do a terrific job in Arkasas. He does make me feel old. And he never misses an opportunity to remind me that I'm old. But I still love him and I'm excited to see him grow and learn as a missionary.

I don't know what we're going to do today. Russ has to work this morning, which gives me the chance to pick up the house (not literally,I just need to clean up a bit) :) But hopefully this afternoon we can do something fun. I'll keep you posted. I'm sure your just waiting on pins and needles to find out!

Pizza

I'm making pizza for dinner. And as much fun as I have getting flour everywhere and dirtying a ton of dishes, I've decided that it's hard to make pizza. Deep, huh? Anna was a big help. Throwing flour on the floor, counter, ceiling, ect... She also went upstairs and got her little rolling pin that my mom gave her for Christmas and rolled out her own dough. I have to admit, my heart melted when she said "Look, Mommy, I'm just like you!!" I really hope I'm a good example. Most of the time I think I'm too grouchy and I'm not as domestic as I should be, but I try to do my best. Russ is a terrific father and a great example to the kids. It's a good thing we have him around.

I wondering how most women do it. Seriously. How do you take care of children, keep a spotless house, uphold your church resposibilites, give service, work, ect,ect... Really. I struggle. My house is NEVER as clean as it should be. Usually the minute I start cleaning, someone spills somthing, or gets hurt, or needs a diaper change, or I have to nurse the baby. I make myself CRAZY trying to keep up, and I never do. My mother ALWAYS had a spotless house. Always. I'm lucky if I can do the dishes and sweep the floor. Maybe I should just quite sleeping. It's not like I do it that much anyway. I really am looking forward to the day when the craziness of having little children is gone. Don't get me wrong, I love having little children. They're such a joy. But when the phase of life comes around when I can keep up with my house, that will be nice. Really nice.