Family Dance

On Friday, February 8th, our family attended a dance put on by Layton City Parks and Recreation.  It was held at a local middle school.  They had a live band, free cookies and punch, a photographer, and prize drawings.  We had a total BLAST!! 

Josh was a maniac!  He danced non-stop all over the place!  Nicki got her groove on too!  Those kids have some energy!  I tried to keep up with them, but they smoked me!  Bronson doesn't really "dance" per se.  He just walks around in circles, staring  at the floor.  Once, he tripped an entire family by running into them while they were dancing.  Oops.  Alison started out being too shy to dance with us, but she eventually warmed up.  Then, her dad (who took turns dancing with all the kids) started teaching her some swing moves and dips.  She was in HEAVEN from then on.  I couldn't get her off the dance floor!  In fact, as we were driving home, Ali gazed out the window and said in a dreamy voice, "I finally found my man!"  I had to tell her that he was already taken and that I was a little jealous that everyone got to dance with him except me! 


My favorite part of this picture is Josh hanging upside-down behind Nicki in the green shirt!

Josh was disappointed that we didn't win any of the prizes.  But low-and-behold, on Monday morning, we got a call from Layton City.  David had guessed the right number of Hershey Kisses in a jar (298 to be exact) and he WON the jar!  How cool is that?!??!

Look, Ma! I'm on TV!

I mentioned in an earlier entry that Dave and I joined a weight loss challenge in January.  It was through KSL channel 5 TV.  Everyone who lost 10 pounds in the month of January had their names put in a drawing for a treadmill.  There were little daily challenges and encouraging bits of wisdom and small prizes given throughout the month as well.  It was really fun for me  (Dave just entered for the chance to win the treadmill.  He didn't care about the challenges or wise words).

At the end of the month, Dave and I had both lost a lot more than 10 pounds.  We were entered into the drawing!  The people at channel 5 invited anyone who wanted to come to Salt Lake to be on a special wrap-up celebration show.  My cool mother said that I should go and volunteered to watch the boys for me.  So...I did!  I was on TV!!

Back row, 4th from the left.  We were in a straight line, but panoramic pictures do crazy things.

I was part of the studio audience for the Studio 5 television show on February 8th at 10:30am.   Oh yes I was!  I have no shame!  I sat there and cheered every time the camera came on me!  Let me tell you something - it's not easy to act excited and cheer for more than about 15 seconds at a time.  By the time you've been cheering for 45 solid seconds, you feel a little foolish!  You kind of run out of things to whoop-whoop.  I also learned something new about myself.  I clap with my hands held MUCH higher than most people.  It looks a little strange.   I need to work on my cheering technique.  There was at least one segment of the show when the hosts were talking and I was DIRECTLY behind them on the screen.  I'm trying to act interested in what they're saying, but really, I was just like, "I'm on TV! I'm on TV!  I'm on TV!" in my head. 

http://studio5.ksl.com/index.php?nid=56&sid=24007152#ooid=U5bG03OToXy2KlK6p_oXZQBq8sMGbKh-

You might get to see a little bit of the video if you follow this link.  The middle segment (with pictures of four ladies) is the one when I'm in the background the whole time - skip it to about 45 seconds in. 

Well, we didn't win the treadmill.  Bummer.  But I did get a nifty, fancy pedometer and a t-shirt that says, "Sweat, Eat, Sleep, Repeat" on the back. And I met some very funny and friendly people.  Not to mention the fun memories I had of my 30 seconds of stardom! 

This is the fitness lady who ran the challenge.  She's written books and starred in exercise DVDs, etc.  I could take her. 
Just kidding, she's pretty tough.

Holy unflattering picture of me!  I swear I'd lost about 19 pounds by then!!!  Oh well.  It's the only picture I've got with the hosts of the TV show, so I've got to put it on.  In my defense, I'm sitting closer to the camera than they are...

A Real Pain In The Mouth

No one LOVES the dentist, right?  Its not really a pleasant experience, having someone put their hands in your mouth.  But most of us are able to cope with the discomfort.

Not Joshua.

Josh has a fear of strangers.  I don't mean your typical stranger-danger.  He is terrified of people.  When we have the missionaries over for dinner, he hides in his room until they are gone.  Same with my visiting teachers and nearly any other visitors to our home.  It took him several visits to warm up to either of my brothers or our home teacher.  He hides under chairs/tables/anything he can find when we're in crowded places, etc.  There was NO chance that we were getting him to sit on Santa's lap this year.  In fact, we basically had to leave the room (once we pried him out from under the table) when Santa showed up at our ward Christmas party.  It's intense!


Pretty cute boy.
 

Anyway...in January, Josh started complaining of a toothache.  I hadn't taken any of our kids to the dentist since we moved to Utah.  I just kept forgetting to set up appointments and I didn't know who to go to.  Having a little boy wake up in tears every night because his mouth hurts does wonders for getting a mom in gear!  I found a pediatric dentist in the area that sounded really good and set an appointment.  Man!  Was it a cool place!  Every wall in the building was covered in murals (mostly of Disney characters and scenes, but also Thomas the Train, etc.)  There were TVs on the ceiling for kids to watch while they're getting their work done, video games in the waiting room, a fully-stocked kitchen playroom, etc.  Josh was in HEAVEN!  That is, until they called him back.  We went into the x-ray room to take his picture (totally Buzz Lightyear-ed out!) and he freaked out.  He buried his head in my shoulder and wouldn't let anyone look at him.  We had to abandon the idea of x-rays, a cleaning, or anything aside from at least getting the dentist to look in his mouth to see if there were any visible cavities.  This was done with CONSIDERABLE effort on a couple of people's part.  Indeed, there were at least two rotted out teeth that needed attention (nice job brushing his teeth, mom!) The dentist recommended sedation dentistry.  We set an appointment for the following week.

Not knowing what to expect, I asked my mom to come over and watch Bronson while we were at our appointment.  She was very kind to come early in the morning and get the girls to school, etc.  Josh and I arrived at the appointment only to find out that he was supposed to be fasting and that the bowl of oatmeal he had for breakfast was a deal-killer.  I know most of you mothers out there are like, "duh, Kelley!"  But it seriously didn't occur to me and no one in the office ever mentioned it.  I was, um, not pleased.  I kept my cool, but made it pretty clear that I was not happy about the situation.  The receptionist promised to make a few adjustments to the schedule and get us in a few hours later, once Josh had digested his breakfast enough.  So basically, my mom came over early in the morning and got my girls to school for nothing, and she had to waste an entire day watching Bronson instead of just the morning.  Also, her Father was dying at that same time.  In fact, it was while she was watching Bronson that she got the call to come to the nursing home, so my dad came over to watch Bronson for her (I already told that part of the story, right?)

Josh and I came home for a couple of hours and visited with Grandma.  Then we returned to the dentist's office.  He was given some medicine to drink.  It was supposed to take about a half hour to kick in.  The idea is it takes the edge off of the kid's fear.  They're still awake and can respond, they just don't care about people looking in their mouths anymore.  Sounds like a good idea, right?  Wrong.  Josh happens to be that one kid in a hundred that doesn't react that way.  The medicine made him clumsy and super-wobbly, but it also made him ANGRY!  He did NOT want the dentist looking in his mouth.  In fact, I think he kicked the dentist at least once.  He screamed and cried and carried on so much that we had to give up (not the best thing for kids in the waiting room to be hearing).  The dentist was kind enough to waive the $140 charge for this failed attempt, and we set an appointment to have Josh completely sedated (which costs teeny bit more than $140) in another week or so. Then, I went home with the world's most cranky four year old.  He yelled at me for a good solid two hours.  Then, mid scream, he fell asleep for most of the day.  Super fun.  He woke up completely happy, not remembering most of the day.  All's well that ends well, right?  I wish I'd had some medicine to help me forget the day too!

I wish the story ended there, but it doesn't.  The next time we took Josh to the dentist, it was on a special day when the anesthesiologist is there.  Bronson came along this time.  Not long after arriving, the anesthesiologist came out and gave Josh a little shot in the hip. Whatever he gave him made Josh really woozy really fast.  It broke my heart to hold him while he struggled to shake off the effects of the drug.  He was trying to focus and kind of whimpering and begging me to help him.  The anesthesiologist took him away - back to the dentist's chair -and I immediately called Dave in tears.  I'm telling you. I was a wreck!  Too many times in that little boy's short life have I watched him be taken away from me for some medical procedure (which is probably at the root of his stranger issues in the first place!  His first surgery, at 10 months old, was pretty traumatic).

The dentist came out pretty quickly.  He said that he had to pull one tooth out, cap another one with a silver crown, and fill two cavities.  But everything went super well and Josh was coming out of the anesthesia.  He brought Bronson and I back to see him.  Oh how I wish he hadn't done that!  Josh was still almost all of the way out.  He was trying to cough, but the anesthesia was making it so he coulnd't , so he was basically choking.  The oxygen levels on his monitors kept dropping, 90%, 80%, into the 70s.  I was freaking out!  I thought I was watching my boy die.  The anesthesiologist was trying to lift his chin and vacuum out his airways, etc.  He was very calm.  He told me that everything was perfectly fine and totally normal, but it didn't feel that way to me.  Pretty soon, the dental assistant was holding Bronson for me while I held my head between my legs and tried not to pass out and the anesthesiologist was blowing oxygen into my face instead of Josh's. Great image, huh?  The mom passing out while her son is coming out of a dental procedure.  I'm a wimp!  But man!  It was so incredibly intense!  I felt totally helpless.  Yuck.


Josh's tooth bling...
 

Of course, Josh had a rough time coming out of the anesthesia.  What did I expect, right?  It took a while for him to wake up enough for us to get the okay to bring him home.  When we did, he just had to lay in the back seat of the van with a belt wrapped around his torso.  He threw up literally every 10 to 15 minutes for the entire day.  Well, he didn't have anything TO throw up, but he heaved all day.  I got virtually nothing done all day.  I just held my little guy and held the throw up bowl for him every few minutes.  I had no choice but to lay him back in the van and take him with me to pick up the girls from school that afternoon.  That wasn't very fun for anyone.  It was snowing really bad that day, so I'd go out and swipe a few passes on the driveway, then a girl would call out to me, "Mom!  He's crying for you again." so I'd run in and catch his throw up, then go out and do a couple more passes on the driveway until the girls came to get me again.  He was so hungry too, but anything that touched his stomach came up within seconds.  It was a long, sad day.  Finally, around dinner time, he fell asleep.  He slept for a couple of hours, then threw up a little bit more, then went to bed for the night.  He woke up the next morning totally happy, healthy, and excited to see his pulled tooth and get ready for his first visit from the tooth fairy.  He remembered nothing...well ALMOST nothing.  He still remembers enough of the whole experience that he takes dental care VERY seriously now. 

No Crusts!

Bronson is one funny little guy - when he's not whomping on someone.  He makes us laugh (and cry) all the time.  Seriously!

Bronny boy HATES crusts!  He hates crust on everything!  I'd expect a two year old to hate bread crusts, and boy does he!??!  He freaks out at the slightest sign of crust on his toast.  He also likes to eat the white part of sliced apples, but leave the peel - strewn all over the house, I might add.  Even if he's sitting at the kitchen table while he eats, he likes to eat the inside of the apple slice, then throw the "rind" across the room.  Oh boy. He does the same thing with orange slices.

At Grandpa Church's funeral luncheon, there was a period of about 5 minutes when Dave thought I was watching Bronson and I thought he was.  When we realized he was missing, it didn't take long to find the little rascal.  He was standing at the food table, eating fruit off a beautiful fruit tray.  I ran over and grabbed him, finding the whole tray littered in orange and apple peels.  Ewww.  Luckily, it was a family luncheon, so everyone pretty much knows my crazy kids.  I guess I should be proud of him for eating fruit instead of cookies.

The other day, David cracked open his chocolate orange from his Christmas stocking.  He shared it with each of the kids.  Wouldn't you know it, Bronson wouldn't even eat the peels of his chocolate orange! Funny boy!

Grandpa's Funeral

Grandpa Church's funeral was held on Monday, January 21st.  It was a beautiful service.  All three of his children spoke.  Katie read the tribute, and Kristin played "Claire de Lune" (Grandpa's favorite song because it reminded him of the movie "Frenchman's Creek" which he watched dozens of times as he rode a boat home from Japan).  What a bitter-sweet, emotional day. It was wonderful to see so many distant relatives that I haven't seen in years. 

Grandpa's ward put up flags in front of the church in honor of him.

 

It was a beautiful sight.  Brought tears to my eyes.

Mom is visiting with uncle Chuck.  His wife, Aunt "Boo," is in the background with the Kleenex.  Boo is Grandma Church's sister.  Oh, and the darling little boy is Adam.

Both of my boys think Uncle Dave is a super hero!  I almost felt bad about how much they bombarded him.  Especially Josh.  But I think Dave really likes kids, so he wasn't too bugged by his fan club.

Aunt Jody and cousin Jeffrey from the Smith side of the family came to the funeral.  I thought that was very nice.

Adam enjoyed his own food at the luncheon (Cheerios).  He was so cute and happy!

After everything was done and cleaned up.  Time to go home...

A few of us went home with Grandma after the funeral and visited for about a half hour.  David took the kids home so I could go by myself.  It was a very nice visit and I'm glad I got to be there. 

The next day, Tuesday the 22nd, we went to Grandma and Grandpa's home town of Delta.  That's where he was buried.  I LOVE Delta!  I would live there in a heartbeat!  Alas, we never will, though.  It's surrounded by sage and juniper (the two things David is deathly allergic to).  Dave started sneezing as soon as we left Nephi and didn't stop again for a couple of days afterwards.

At the viewing, Josh got frightened by all the strangers and hid under a chair.  The only person who could get him to come out was Uncle Dave. 



The whole family together.  Scott, Kelley, Katie, Dad, Mom, Kristin, David.

I think that's the prettiest casket I have ever seen!  Grandpa Church picked it out himself a few years ago. 

The pallbearers holding a flag over the casket while "Taps" was being played. 

Words cannot express how cold it was.  We literally watched the flowers freeze right before our eyes.

Taps.  Very, very emotional for all of us.

Grandma Church being presented the flag. 

On our drive home, we saw a beautiful bald eagle right at the side of the road. Fitting end to a somber, patriotic day. 

Old Lady Prom

Just two days after Grandpa's death, my dad was in charge of one of his job's biggest events of the year - the annual Chamber of Commerce Awards Banquet.  It's a big, black-tie event with hundreds of people attending.  It's at the Davis Conference Center. They serve fancy food, have wonderful entertainment and honor the best businesses in the community.  My dad is the president of the Chamber, so he's the host and the emcee. 

Mom, Dad and their pit crew.
 

Each year, my dad enlists his daughters to come and help the guests check in.  I went once before, a few years ago.  Since then, it's been too difficult to come from Idaho.  But now that I'm a local, I was totally in!!!  I love going!  This year, I started calling it old-lady prom.  I think that name kind of sums it up.  I get to dress up and spend a fun night away from normal mommy-hood.  My sisters and I greet people as they enter, check them in, and help them find their tables.  Once the ceremony starts, we get to stay and watch (and eat the amazing food, too - of course!).  The entertainment this year was a fabulous pianist and a broadway performer.  The man sang "Bring Him Home" and "Maria" to perfection.  It was great. 

Kelley, Kristin, Katie W, and Katie S.

I love spending the night with grown ups, seeing a few familiar faces from my days in banking, and working with my sisters.  Even more than that, I LOVE watching my parents in action.  My mom is a fun, cute, socialite that everyone wants to chat with and my dad does such a great job being the head honcho.  Plus, they look pretty great all dressed up!  My sisters are so professional and official when they're helping.  It's such a change from our usual chase-kids-around selves.  I think it's a blast!  Kristin says she hates it - it makes her so nervous to talk to the people that she gets sick, but I think she's amazing!  Katie's a natural.  She was born to work with rich people (or any people, but I already knew that from the few months we worked together 12 years ago).  She really has a talent!  This year was the first time Katie Smith joined our ranks.  She handed out roses to all the ladies.  She did a fabulous job!  She's such a great addition to our family!  We have a lot of fun when we all get together - laughing and visiting.  I hope we can go to old-lady prom again next year!

Grandpa's Obituary

Ray Howard Church

March 15, 1920 ~ January 16, 2013

 

Our hero, Ray Howard Church, age 92, passed away peacefully on Wednesday, January 16, 2013 following a brief case of pneumonia surrounded by his family at the George Wahlen Veteran’s Home in Ogden, Utah.

Ray was born March 15, 1920 in Henrieville, Utah to George N. and Sarah Jane Shakespeare Church. One of twelve children, Ray’s family moved to Delta, Utah when he was three years old where he attended school and was involved in athletics. After graduation, Ray attended Dixie College and joined the U.S. Marine Corps in 1940. He was stationed on the island of Guam when Pearl Harbor was attacked on December 7, 1941. Three days later Guam fell to the Japanese forces and Ray was taken prisoner. He spent the next 45 months as a P.O. W. in Japan. This was truly the defining and character building experience of his life.

After several months of rehabilitation in San Diego, California, Ray returned home a decorated and honored hero. Upon his return to Delta, he met and married Marion Moody on July 26, 1946 in the Manti LDS Temple. Their love and their life together was a light and example to all who knew them. Ray and Marion moved to California in 1953 where he spent the next forty years in the banking industry. Ray was also extremely involved in community and civic organizations where he served as President of the Kiwanis and Rotary Clubs, President of the Chamber of Commerce, President of the Associated Chamber of Commerce for the San Fernando Valley, Chairman of the Draft Board during the Vietnam War and served on several advisory boards for the city of Los Angeles. He received many awards and citations from city, state and federal governments for his service.

After raising their family and retirement, Ray and Marion moved to Ogden, Utah in February 1991. Always strong and active in the LDS church, Ray has served in three bishoprics, three high councils, as High Priest Group Leader and as a Stake Missionary. He and Marion served a full time temple mission in Chicago, Illinois. They also shared nine years as temple ordinance workers in the Ogden Temple, and a three year service mission as hosts at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building in Salt Lake City.

Ray loved to read, play golf, play Rook and just PLAY, but his greatest joy was in spending time with his family. Ray is survived by his loving wife Marion, who faithfully served him to the end, their three children: Susan (Robert) Daum of Wilmington, Delaware and Ogden, Utah; Carolyn (James E.) Smith of Farmington, Utah; and Michael Ray (Linda) Church of Ogden, Utah. They are also survived by 13 grandchildren and 23 great-grandchildren, all of whom adore Grandpa Church; brother: Ned Church; sisters: Margaret Callister, Sarah Finlinson. He was preceded in death by his parents, a son-in law: Brian C. Davis, and one great-grandchild.

Special thanks to the staff of the George Wahlen Veterans Home, especially those in the D-Wing, for their exceptional and personal care of Ray. In lieu of flowers, the family recommends that donations be made to the General Missionary Fund of the LDS Church. We can hardly wait to see you again, Grandpa! We love you!

Posts from Facebook about Grandpa Church

After today, the world will never be the same - Mike Church

 

 

My hero, Grandpa Church passed away yesterday. Words can't express how much I love and admire that man. Kind, funny, gentle, tough, handsome, charming, loyal, faithful and ALWAYS happy. Everyone who knew him loved him. He will be missed... by us all. Thoughts and prayers go to my wonderful Grandma Church. We all thought Grandpa loved us best, but when she thought it, she was actually right.

The world lost one of its best men yesterday. Those of you who knew Grandpa Church know I'm not kidding. They just DO NOT make men like him anymore! - Kelley Gee

 

 

I only have a handful of things in my life that I can say I am truly proud of.  One of them is my late grandpa, Ray Church.  I love my grandpa and will miss him - Kenny Church

 
Grandpa Church has passed into the next life.  We will miss his sweet spirit and quick smile. - Christine Davis

Grandpa Ray Church has made his last great adventure. He has reunited with his family, countless friends and has regrouped on the beach with his “clod-crunching” Marines. Grandpa always spoke about the “big surprise” we would win if we won a family contest or accomplished this or that. While he never divulged what the surprise would be and nothing was ever actually awarded, it turned out that HE was our “big surprise”. No greater gift could be given then having him in our lives. My only regret is that as hard as he tried to turn me into a world class golfer, I am still beyond terrible. At ease Marine, you earned it. - Steven Church

Ray H. Church- If this picture doesn't some up what kind of man he was, nothing will. It was taken on the first day of his 4 years as a P.O.W in Japan during WWII. He has the same look here he always had, which was " I got this". - Steven Church

My Grandpa Church passed away this afternoon.  He was sort of our family hero, and a hero to everyone who knew him.  Marine, POW, and just all around great guy.  I will sure miss him - Scott Smith


My Grandfather.  One of the best men I have ever known.  We will miss you terribly. - John Davis


Overwhelmed with love for my family today. My amazing Grandpa Church passed away today, and while I'm so sad for all of us, and especially for my sweet Grandma, I can only imagine the joy he is experiencing. What a blessing and light he has been to all who have known him.
I know a lot of people think of their Grandfathers as heroes, but I always knew that my Grandpa was one... - Katie Wahlquist


My grandfather was one of the best. The type of man to hold the door open for you, even though he could barely stand himself. The most gentle man I ever met, even though he spent 4 years in a prison camp where being gentle could mean that you didnt survive. A man who would let you win a game because he loved you, even though he could beat you hands down. Ray Church is a quiet hero who spent his life doing for others. You will be missed every day. - Karen Dixon


My kids will always remember playing pool with Grandpa and sharing ice cream and soda with him.  They loved how he would greet them at the door with a hug and "Come and see Grandpa." - Mark Church

Grandapa Church

I wrote a little bit about Grandpa Church's health last year.  He'd been in a retirement home since early November.  They took really good care of him there, but his health continued to decline.  I tried to visit him every week or two, and sometimes brought along my family.  It was very very hard to see him deteriorate each time.  We all knew that he wouldn't be around for very many more years.  That is one of the main reasons I am glad that we moved back to Utah last summer.  Before our move, we saw Grandma and Grandpa Church two or three times per year.  Now, we saw them at least once per month, and often more.  My daughters especially, and even Josh, will always have memories of spending time with Grandpa Church.

By the second week of January, Grandma C. said that she thought the end was near.  Grandpa wasn't eating or even getting his medicines down very well.  He had pneumonia as well.  Aunt Sue happened to have been in town for a couple of weeks, and arranged her schedule to stay a while longer.  Then, on January 16th, my mom got a call from the nursing home telling her she'd better come right away.  She happened to be at my house watching Bronson for me while Josh was getting sedated at the dentist (long, ugly story that I'll save for another post), but she was able to get a hold of my dad, who left work and swooped in to take Bronson for her.  I was home shortly thereafter, so Dad was able to join mom at the nursing home.

In the early afternoon on Wednesday, January 16th, my favorite human being in the whole world passed away.  He was surrounded by family and went very peacefully.  I am so happy for him - I'm sure he had quite a reception on the other side of the veil.  I am certain that he had his wonderfully close and large family, many war buddies, and other friends and admirers waiting for him.  He was an incredible person.  Literally magical. The only sadness in his passing is for those of us who will miss him, especially Grandma.  They had such a wonderful marriage.  I can't even imagine how she's missing him.  But I'm grateful that she had those months of transition while he was in a nursing home for two reasons.  One: she had already started to adjust to sleeping alone, going to church without him, etc. so she didn't have to face that added shock, and two: those months were so hard to watch that his passing felt a little like a relief.

That evening, my parents invited all of their children to meet them at Sizzler.  We sat in a back room and were able to visit while we ate.  We heard stories of Grandpa's final moments, reminisced about many memories we had, and planned a bit for the next week's events.  It wasn't as rowdy as our get-togethers can be, but it wasn't melancholy either.  The only way I can describe it was that it was a very loving, peaceful, uplifting night - spent with exactly the people we wanted to be with: our family.



Dave, Katie and I with Grandpa Church.

Ice Day

On Friday, January 11th, we woke up to a whole lot of snow!  The phone rang at 6:00 in the morning, telling us that Davis School district had cancelled school for the day.  Hooray! (Of course, by Utah state law, they have to make it up later, but at least their lives won't be at risk when they do).  As we  watched news coverage of the roads, I became more and more nervous for David's safety.  This was one day when you did NOT want your husband to be driving from house to house all day!  The news reporters were telling everyone that due to accidents and slick roads, they should plan on adding one or two hours to their commute.  Yikes!

About the time I was ready to have a panic attack, Dave got a text message from his supervisor.  It said, "Due to road conditions, we want you to cancel ALL unnecessary visits.  If you nurses have to do dialysis for a patient, do it, but nothing else."  Whew!   I felt so much better.  What a great job David has!  How many employers would do that?  Dave, on the other hand, had a hard time just staying home and getting paid for nothing.  He felt really strange about it - he hated cancelling appointments, even though no body made a fuss when he did. 

Don't worry, Dave got over his anxiety and had a great day of reading by the fireside.  We all just kind of hunkered down and kept warm all day.  It was great to have a family-wide snow day.

 

Just hanging out on the computer, in front of the TV or with a good book for most of the day...
 

 

Later in January, we had some seriously dangerous weather.  First, the temps went super low, killing several birds throughout the area.  Then, on the 24th, Utah had a full-blown ice storm. It was dangerously slick everywhere! Rain was falling from the sky and instantly freezing on people's windshields. The freeway was a huge mess of car accidents. It was intense!  David went to work that day, but cancelled his first visit in South Salt Lake.  I made him drive the van because it has better snow tires on it.  He said that the roads weren't actually too bad because crews were out working on them, but getting from his car to the front door of each of his patients was literally life-threatening. I believe him. I've never been on such slick ice before!  And everywhere was like that - there was NOTHING to grip on to anywhere!  We couldn't get our car up the driveway, people were falling all over the place (I guess Dave's work will be busy for a while) and the police even called our house telling us to stay indoors unless there was an emergency.  My poor brother-in-law is a mail man and he said that at one house, he slipped and he had to crawl for 25 yards until he could find something to pull himself up with.  By the afternoon, even the post office called in its workers, regardless of whether the mail was delivered or not.  Wow! 

The next day was only slightly better.  Davis School District called a late start that morning, but since Fridays are early-out days, I kept the girls home all day.  I wasn't going to brave the roads just so that they could eat lunch at school and come home again. 

What an adventure!  We asked Dave's parents how people braved the ice storms in Oklahoma City and they said, "Easy - you just shut everything down.  No body goes anywhere for a while."  I can see why!

diet

I don't intend to divulge the entire history of the Gee family weight struggles here, but I do need to make a quick post about our attempt to get healthy.  After all, it's kind of been a major focus of our lives for the past little while.

I hardly need to say that both David and I are long past due for a health overhaul.  We both have felt uncomfortable and unhappy with our health for years now. We made some serious attempts to fix it  interspersed with the "whine-about-it-and-see-if-that-helps...oh-and-pass-the-mashed-potatoes" approach.  We'd sporadically try to exercise more or eat better, but not with any enthusiasm or commitment. 

Finally, after the disgusting gluttony known as December 2012 in our house, I'd had enough!  Luckily for me, two things happened at around the same time:  Amy showed me an app on her phone called My Fitness Pal.  It's simply a calorie tracker, with a few fun charts and graphs, along with a bar code scanner to get information straight from food labels and a few other fun things.  Also, my sister Katie told me about a weight loss contest with a local television station.  Joining that program introduced me to an exercise video streaming website called The Gym Box.  I am in LOVE with it!  I get to do tough, challenging, super-fun workouts every day and they add about a dozen new classes every week!  (It costs $10/month, but that's better than a gym membership and babysitting fees and I was THIS CLOSE to spending about $100 on new exercise videos to get me re-motivated. That $100 will take me clear to October!!! )

On January 2nd, I started a new, healthy lifestyle.  To my joyful surprise, David decided to join me.  We started keeping track of our calories on January 2nd, using the MyFitnessPal app on our phones.  Two things happened when we did this.  First of all, we realized how horribly we'd been eating for the past who-knows-how-long.  It was not uncommon for us to eat THOUSANDS of calories in a single evening.  Secondly, we lost a lot of weight really quickly.  Our bodies were in shock from lack of constant eating. That initial weight loss has been so motivating and helpful for Dave.  It's a good thing too, because he needed to drag me along for the first month.  I was kicking and fighting for a while, saying that it wasn't worth the effort and that I was a happy fat woman, but he kept me going. 

Anyway, in the first month, I lost 15 pounds and David lost 18.  We both lost several inches here 'n' there and feel better than we have in a very long time.  Dave feels cautiously optimistic about the future with this program.  He says he's glad for all the other programs we've tried in the past because we learned things from each of them, but this one seems to fit his life and his personality fairly well.  Sure, we may have to track our calories for the rest of our lives, but that is a very small price to pay if it improves our health and prolongs our lives with our family.

Hello 2013!

We ended 2012 wishing that our lives could slow down a little bit.  Well, we sure got our wish on January 1st!  Bronson woke up very sick and very cranky.  He was running a fever and feeling pretty miserable.  He wanted to be held ALL THE TIME by either his mom or his dad.  We were more than happy to oblige.  We literally spent the entire day on the couch watching football and eating left over Chinese food and a smorgasbord of holiday treats.  By the time we went to bed that night, I was so stuffed and so sluggish that I was totally READY to set New Year's resolutions to get healthy.

It may sound boring to you, but it was a really great day for us!  I love to hold cuddly, sick babies.  I also love to eat tons of food and watch football.  The three older kids played together all day, both inside the house and out.  They had a great time!  I kept trying to get them to watch football with us, but so far I've been unsuccessful in getting any of my kids to show any interest.  We all went to bed early that night - some of us were feeling sick, and others had to go to school in the morning.  Goodbye 2012 - Hello 2013!