Sophisticated

After 2 1/2 looong years my handsome son Skyler got his braces off today. We are thrilled with the results! His friends at school told him he looks 'Sophisticated.' What do you think?

Pre-braces

Today, before the BIG event

And the Grand Finale!

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

Well, it's actually just the good and the bad, but that is a much less intriguing title. So, it's the good, the bad, and the ugly! Taylee attended her second annual craniofacial clinic today.
So the good. All went well with Dr. Siddiqi, the plastic surgeon. He says that her palate looks good, it has a small furrow, but is intact and looking great. We next went to the orthodontist - who last year recommended that she have her upper frenulum (the tissue between your top gum and your upper lip) snipped the next time she was in the operating room. I was pleased to tell him that she has NOT been in the OR, and therefore has NOT had it snipped. I was even more pleased to find out that it is looking better, and no longer needs to be snipped! Wahoo! Not sure how that happens, but we are pleased none the less . . . We spent a few minutes with Dr. Muntz, the ENT. He poked and prodded her ears, nose, and throat (hence the name), and announced that her left tube is still intact, and her right tube has fallen out (this normally occurs 1-2 years after placement). Fortunately, she does NOT have fluid building up in that right ear, which is a very good sign. It is common in cleft palate kids to need tubes for up to 3 years or more. He just wants to take a peek in six months to see how the left tube is looking, and verify that no fluid is accumulating in either ear. If fluid accumulates we will probably need to replace the tubes, in order to make sure she can hear. Obviously, an inability to hear will greatly affect her speech development. Something which is high on our priority list. So, we will definitely be visiting Dr. Muntz this winter!
And the bad(ish). We finished up with the speech therapist, who was pleased with Taylee's speech. Yay! But, she can hear a nasal tone to her speech (so can we . . .), and other speech tones that make her strongly believe that she will eventually need a palate revision. So . . . more surgery. Boo. Obviously, it's not for sure, but certainly a sobering thought. We thought it was one and done, but maybe not. I guess we'll have to just wait and see.
So, after the bad, instead of the ugly, we will conclude with the adorable!

Monday Night Football!

Last weekend Kent and I had the opportunity to travel with our brother and sister in law Mark and Amber to Denver to watch the Broncos lose to the Raiders while sitting in the rain. How could we pass up such an amazing opportunity?! Well, in truth, this was the first game of the season, and during every off-season hope springs eternal, and we thought maybe, just maybe, we would be good again. ("We" meaning the Broncos). Alas, we are the same old Broncos . . . However, we managed to have a pretty darn good time despite their miserable performance.

We flew in on Sunday afternoon and headed straight for the RockBottom Brewery in downtown. We enjoyed good food, good drinks, and lots of football. Plus, we got to 'hang' (as in, watch from afar), with Trent Dilfer, former quarterback of the Bucs, Ravens, Seahawks, etc. Turns out he was in town to provide commentary for the Monday Night Football game. This is becoming a bit of a trend for us. We travel almost every year to Denver for a game, and we have now stayed in the same hotel as the Pittsburgh Steelers, last year we stayed in the same hotel as the New York Jets (even riding in the elevator with LaDanian Tomlinson!), and now this encounter with Trent Dilfer. I wonder what next year will bring?! After the brewery we headed over to Croc's bar and grill for more food, drinks, and football. After checking into our hotel, we headed over to Toby Keith's "I Love this Bar and Grill!" for the Sunday night football game and yet another round of food and drinks. By the time we were through for the night, we were completely overloaded with food, drinks, and quite possibly even football!

Monday was a beautiful fall day, so we took full advantage by travelling to Golden, Co. to tour the Coors Brewery. I expected to be wandering around with like 6 other tourists. Wow, was I wrong! There were at least 200 people there, and they just kept on coming! It was actually pretty fun and informative. We finished up the afternoon with lunch at Woody's Pizza, which was delicious. (Thanks for the recommendation, Ry!)
Soon it was time for the much anticipated football game! We headed over to the stadium early so we could enjoy some tailgating and spend some time in "the Barn." The Barn has free face painting, happy hours drink and burritos, and some fabulous music and entertainment. On our way in we ran into ROBO-Bronco. Could this be the next barrel man?!
Or maybe this leprechaun dude is the next barrel man? He certainly has some hot moves on the dance floor!

Amber was enticed to join the "Red Robin, Yumm!" competition. Which is just as it sounds - a competition for who can say "Red Robin, Yumm!" the best. Fortunately, Amber took second place, which worked out well because her prize was a sweatshirt and a hat. Gear which definitely came in handy while we sat through a deluge a couple hours later.

The pre-game festivities included a tribute to our great nation (it was the day after the ten year anniversary of 9/11 after all). It was beautiful and very touching. Possibly even better than the game . . .

Although we lost and got rained on, we still managed to have a pretty darn good time! Here's hoping the Broncos improve a little by the time we take Skyler in October . . .

Funny Kids

While uploading photos from this weekend, I stumbled across these pix I took a couple weeks ago of my silly kids. I love that Taylee is Skyler's mini me. Too cute.

And I was trying to teach Taylee the art of the self-portrait. Her attempts didn't work out so well . . .

To Top it all Off . . .

So, to end this weekend of fun, we headed to Park City on Monday and hit the Utah Olympic Park. Is anybody else amazed that it has been nearly 10 years since the 2002 Olympics here in SLC? ? Crazy!!
My mom, Aunt Tota, Skyler, Ryan, and Kaydence took a spin on the Alpine Slide. A first for both Skyler and Kaydence. Way fun!

After the Alpine Slide, the big kids (myself, Kent, Ryan, and Skyler), got to take a trip on the 'Extreme Zip Line!'

We finished off the day with dinner at Five Guys (and the neighboring Cafe Rio for me!). All in all, it was a perfect end to a great weekend! We should do this every year . . .

Family Fun!

We had a fabulous Labor Day weekend. My aunt Char (Tota to those in the know), my cousin Ryan and his cutie tootie Kaydence came out for a long weekend visit. This gives us a great excuse to go do all the fun stuff our little hometown has to offer!
I was surprised and thrilled to find that Taylee and Kaydence were fast friends. Taylee is a tough gal to impress, but Kaydence charmed her quickly. It may have helped that she came bearing gifts for Taylee. New snuggly jammies for the upcoming winter (which we are NOT looking forward to!), and a new wild girl cup with a swirly straw. These girls were hot stuff with their new cups! Thanks for all the new swag!
Anyways, shortly after their arrival we met up at the park to feed the ducks, which was a real hit, especially with the ducks! They LOVED our bread and actually got really aggressive. We had to make a quick escape to avoid losing a finger or two!
On Friday, while I was working and Kent was camping with the kiddos, my mom took Tota, Ry, and Kaydence to the zoo. The animals were a bit sleepy and lame, but they still had fun. Plus they scored a couple stuffed monkeys, so the day was a hit in Kaydence's book! And Taylee didn't make out too bad either, with her own monkey. (which now shares her bed, by the way!) Thanks Tota!
Upon their return from camping on Saturday, we headed straight to Boondocks. Sadly, I forgot my camera, but rest assured, we had a great time on the go-carts, bumper boats, and mini golf.
The fun continued on Sunday at the Aquatic Center, which is always a hit with my family. I think Kaydence really helped Taylee find her inner fins too!

We barbecued some yummy ribs at our house that night, and Skyler entertained us with his football acrobatics.

Here is Taylee imitating her big brother's antics . . .

I had to post this photo because I think it is pretty cool. I was snapping a picture of Taylee and Skyler stuck his hand in front of my camera. Not sure how it happened, but Skyler's hand became see through!

And, of course, what's a day of fun in the sun without a bubble bath to top it off?!

Camping in the Uinta's

Kent's family had a bit of a family reunion over Labor Day weekend in the Uinta's. Because I had family visiting from Colorado, he opted to go up for only one night. I had to work that night, so Kent and Skyler had the honor of taking Taylee on her first camping trip! Some parts went well, some not so well.

The eating parts went well.

Who doesn't love camping food?

Smores and Toasted Marshmallows?
Yummy!

The sleeping part, not so good. Kent ended up with Taylee inside his sleeping bag. She slept well, but as you might imagine,

Kent didn't get much sleep, to say the least!

The fishing proved to be pretty fun.

And quite succesful if you consider minnows a good catch!
Taylee taking a paw to the face and a paw to the chest and being knocked over by a BIG dog, not so good. Neither was the fish hook in her knee.But, adventures are what camping is all about. And all in all, they had a pretty darn good time!

Toy Story

I was busy this afternoon making peanut butter bars for a family party tonight. I was so pleased that Taylee was being so good and letting me work uninterrupted in the kitchen. I figured it was because she was busy with her little project. She was running back and forth from her bedroom to the dining room table, stashing toys under the table. I figured it was worth the mess just to get my baking done.

When I went to put her down for a nap, I found she had a much bigger project going on. This is what she was really doing while I was baking!

She sure looks like a spoiled little girl from these photos!

P.S. Jen - I changed some of the settings in my comments section. Maybe this will allow you to post comments? Let me know if it helps.

How old?!

Last week Kent took me to St. George to celebrate my birthday. We had a nice relaxing vacation away. We started with a little golf at Dixie Red Hills.You can't tell me that this view isn't impressive?!

He showered me with gifts . . .

He took me to not one, but TWO shows at Tuacahn. For a guy who doesn't like musicals, he was

a darn good sport about sitting through both Grease, and Little Mermaid!

I only caught him dozing once or twice . . . ;)

We returned home to even more birthday fun. Nana and Poppie took us all out to Olive Garden for my birthday. YUMMY!

Then they spoiled me with some new scrubs and a new 56 degree wedge!

It looks like somebody thinks she has an affinity for golf . . .

We can't wait til she is big enough to hit the links with us! Kent and I are so lucky and so grateful to have wonderful parents who take such good care of our little girl, which allows us to get away and know that she is in good hands.

Thanks for all your help Grandma, Grandpa, Nana, and Poppie!

Green Thumb?!

This little cutie pie is pleased to announce that

her mommy grew her very first tomato!

Yes, this is small beans to many of you out there,

but it is truly my very first attempt at

growing anything other than a flower.

Thank heavens for Jennika or this never would have

come to pass. When I bought 2 little six packs of

tomato plants, I brought them home, and was preparing

to plant them. I had a pot, I had plants, I was ready!

Fortunately Jennika stopped by, and when I told

her I was going to put all six plants in one pot,

she had a pretty good laugh. So I said, maybe

like half? Three plants per pot?

Hah. Just one?!

Wow, I was a little off. So, I got a couple more pots,

planted three plants, and sent the rest to grow

and thrive in Mike and Jenn's garden.

Well, indeed, she was right, and I have tomatoes!

Maybe next year I will plant some peppers and

some strawberries. And maybe I will

do a bit of research before I get started!