Tagged By Kerry

5 things I was doing 10 years ago

1. hanging with the GG's
2. swimming fast..those were the days
3. paging 70113 11 7075*143*823*47
4. watching Days of our Lives & A wedding story with my sister
5. homework

5 things on my to do list today

1. clean the house
2. get posters for a meet this weekend
3. think of christmas gift ideas..I am realistic and know I won't get the shopping done.
4. call in meds for Tyler
5. blog

5 snacks I enjoy

1. watermelon
2. yogurt
3. bagels
4. chocolate
5. green apples

5 things I would do if I were a billionaire

1. save..it's in our nature
2. buy a house
3. pay off dental school loans
4. start a non-profit for heart kids
5. do service missions

3 bad habits

1. don't manage my time well so I am always running to the next thing
2. I don't cook
3. I take my frustrations out on Danny

5 places I've lived

1. Clayton, CA
2. Walnut Creek, CA
3. Provo, UT
4. Spain; Madrid, Barcelona, Benidorm, Elche

5 jobs I've had

1. snack bar worker, Heather Farms
2. swim coach
3. commercial sales
4. swimmer...does that count? Hey, it paid for school & everything associated with it.
5. mom

5 things you probably don't know about me (this is for Kerry who tagged me)

1. I had goats, a horse, and many other animals who were all named Kerry growing up
2. I wanted to name all my children kerry when I was younger
3. I don't want to name my children kerry anymore
4. I would be happy being a mom to all boys
5. I really love living in a condo right now

I tag the first 5 people on my friends list. I don't know who that is so take a look & it just might be you!

Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving!! Our family has so much to give thanks for this holiday season. Here are a few of the things we are giving thanks for:
Walnut Creek & our Condo...we love where we live. It is close to San Francisco, the beach, mountains and so much to do. Our little city has great parks, shopping, restaurants, wonderful weather and so much more. We are so lucky to live here.
We are grateful for the miracles of prayer, our faith in God and knowledge of eternal families.
Friends like you!! We don't know what we would do without our friends and family that have done so much for us these past couple of months. We love you!!

Our little miracle baby! We are grateful for our son that reminds us to be grateful for everyday that we have together, for our family, faith and hope. We love you Tyler. We are so blessed to have you in our family!

Scott & Binkies...Scott makes us laugh day and night. He is the sweetest most loving son any mom or dad could dream of. He is the best big brother and so much fun to have in our family. We love you Scott!

Danny & Motorcycles...I love my husband. He is a kid at heart, loving, caring and such a great dad. I don't know what I would do without you sweetie. I love you...you complete me!

Fun Times! We have been so blessed to be able to enjoy life. We love where we are and feel so fortunate for our many blessings and opportunities to have so many great adventures like going to Mazatlan and playing at the beach. I am grateful for memories of good times. They make me happy.

Danny the Dentist...Danny loves his profession. He loves working with his hand, working with others and has been so fortunate to have some great mentors and associateships in dentistry. I feel so blessed that my husband loves the profession that he chose. You realize how lucky you are when you enjoy what you do every day. This is a picture of one of his students work. Thank goodness for dental school.

I love my job. I get to stay home with my kids in the day and work at night. I love coaching kids, being outdoors, and having great friends. Scott and I are at a swimmeet. Go Aquabears!!
My parents. They made me who I am. They are two of the most generous and caring people I know. My boys and I are so lucky to have them so close!

Laughter...the cure for all.
My sister and the baby bjorn...I am so lucky to have a sister who is full of wisdom, love and so much fun to be around. The baby bjorn is the best invention for any mom with two kids. I don't know how parents did it before this invention!

Who's the Man of the Mancation?

For those who don't know Danny does print modeling every once in a while. Danny's latest modeling gig...win a charlotte mancation! It was advertising some contest for men to come to Charlotte and have a "man-vacation" also known as a mancation. I will post other ads he's done in the future so stay tuned. This has been the most bizarre photo shoot that Danny has been a part of with a very interesting photographer. For all that live on the east coast, the ad is in several magazines like sports illustrated and esquire. If anyone sees a copy send one our way. This isn't advertised on the West Coast. The other day he met up with a really nice photographer to do a trade of head shots for modeling so they could both build their portfolio. Danny thinks the photographer als was looking for a date out of it. Too bad he's taken and straight.

Autumn & Dan-O's Wedding

just married....grooms side...Danny is in the far left.
bride and groom with the kids. Someday in the near future...

massive cake. Yummy....

Danny had a great time. They got married on Saturday at the Mount Timpanogos Temple in Utah. The reception was at Thanksgiving Point. The lucky couple is honeymooning on a cruise in the Riviera. I am jealous.

Pokemon

So some of my swimmers are really into pokemon. One of them spends the entire workout quizzing and awarding points to the other kids on pokemon trivia. There is a lot of trivia. I question where they find all this information and how much time they spend learning it. He remembers everyones points and writes them in a book at night for their running tally. Some kids have hundreds of points. I asked them when they were waiting their turn to go if pokeman live in families. He responds, "No, but they do lay eggs." I love that they linked my question about families to laying eggs. All of a sudden I felt like I had gotten into a converstion that was too much information. He then goes on to say they get dropped of at nursery and if they are compatable they lay eggs together. I always thought that nursery was where you dropped your kids off to play, not to lay eggs. I am not sure if I am going to let my kids play Pokemon. It seems a little weird to me.

Danny's Trip to Utah

Danny left for Utah on Friday to go to Dan's wedding who is one of his friends from middle school on. Of course nothing runs as smooth as possible lately. Maybe it's so we can entertain you on our blog or so that I can continue celebrating "Super Daddy Danny Week," for Danny's birthday. On our way out the door for the airport Danny remembered his temple recommend expired this month and he was still lacking an interview which he needed to go to the wedding ceremony. I dropped him off at BART with Scott, his luggage, camera bag and backpack for his trip to the Oakland Airport. It was 2PM and his flight was at 4:40. The stake president called Danny and told him that he could meet him at his office in San Francisco to receive his recommend. Danny went to San Francisco, found the firm, got his recommend renewed, hopped in a taxi (remember he has Scott) and makes it to the airport with minutes to spare. He checks his baggage outside, cuts in front of everyone, runs to the plane and made it to Utah. I was certain he would not make the flight, but once again my husband has been full of wonderful surprises this week. So Danny and Scott are in Utah and Tyler and I are in California. Tyler can't be in altitude because of his heart. I will keep you posted on the rest of his trip. Hopefully it isn't as eventful as the beginning. I am sure several people think it is a lot of work for Danny to go through all this to get his recommend renewed. We believe that the temple is a very sacred and holy place and that all those who enter should be worthy and understand and respect its purpose and holiness. A lot of people asked me questions when Danny and I got married about the temple, our marriage and who could enter. Hopefully this explains a little for inquiring minds.

Temples are literally houses of the Lord. They are holy places of worship where individuals make sacred covenants with God. Because making covenants with God is such a solemn responsibility, individuals cannot enter the temple to receive their endowments or be sealed in marriage for eternity until they have fully prepared themselves. Throughout history, the Lord has commanded His people to build temples. The Church is working to build temples all over the world to make temple blessings more available for a greater number of Heavenly Father's children. Temples are places of learning. Their principal purpose is to provide ordinances necessary for the children of God to enable them to return to dwell with Him. Temple ordinances lead to the greatest blessings available through the Atonement of Jesus.

1. One ordinance received in the temple is called the endowment. The word endowment means "gift," and the temple endowment truly is a gift from God. The ordinance consists of a series of instructions and includes covenants to live righteously and follow the requirements of the gospel. The endowment focuses on the Savior, His role in Heavenly Father's plan, and the personal commitment of each member to follow Him.
   
2. Another temple ordinance is celestial marriage. In this ordinance husband and wife are sealed to one another for eternity. A sealing performed in the temple continues forever if the husband and wife are faithful to the covenants they make.
   
3. Children born to parents who have been sealed in the temple are born in the covenant. These children automatically become part of an eternal family. Children who are not born in the covenant can also become part of an eternal family once their natural or adoptive parents have been sealed to one another. The ordinance of sealing children to parents is performed in the temple.
   
4. People who have died without these essential gospel ordinances may receive those ordinances through the work done in temples. Acting in behalf of ancestors and others who have died, Church members are baptized and confirmed, receive the endowment, and participate in the sealings of husband to wife and children to parents.
   

I love going to the temple. It is a place of peace, away from the world, where you can hear the still small voice of Heavenly Father.

My question for my readers are what are some of your favorite places to be?

1. I love the beach or pool on a sunny day.
2. I love my cozy bed (especially when I am able to sleep).
3. I love going to dinner with my family for special occasions.

Root Canal Theory

If it were only as easy as kisses making the pain go away!! Last night after a long days work, my poor husband got a call from his most important patient. I know that he felt soo bad to hear that his favorite patient had a horrible tooth ache, so he went into the office at 6pm and started a root canal on #15, the farthest back molar. Do wives ever make things easy for their husbands? Anyway, I know why endodontists can charge $1200 for a root canal and get away with it. You go in with this horrible pain, claiming that you would do ANYTHING to get rid of it. It is just that unbearable and an hour later you walk away pain free, a happy man or woman, able to conquer the world and promising yourself that you will never eat chocolate or the kids leftover Halloween candy again. So my hero for the day is my husband. My sister was also my hero for coming over and watching the little rascals for the night on such a last minute notice. They are two of my favorite people in the whole wide world. I love you guys!! For those who have good teeth and have never had the joy of experiencing a root canal, it is actually quite a pleasant experience. What other horrible pain can you go into a doctors office for and come out pain free? Actually, this summer I went into the doctors office because I thought I had a bladder infection. I went in with a lot of pain, went pee in a cup and came out a happy woman! Any guesses. That is right, I passed a kidney stone right there in the office. So much for having to strain my pee for the next 3 days. I know how to make things easy on myself. I just go to the office to give them my stone. Sorry if that was too much information for you, but those have been two great doctor office experiences that I have had. Giving birth was also a great experience when the pain was worth it. You walk away with a cute little baby. Sadly, I can't complain about the pain (even though I do to my husband non-stop) since the root canal is due to my love for chocolate, the kidney stone was due to not drinking enough water during pregnancy and in my opinion people are just plain crazy for having kids without drugs....Even though I do it, I really don't know why or recommend it to anyone else.

Debut of the Mashoonga!

So our friends, the Bogners, have created an amazing game. The Mashoonga! It is a contact game like no other played with bo-staffs and sabers. They are excited to be debuting their game at The Sports Basement in Walnut Creek this Saturday. It will be a lot of fun, plus there will be free pizza, prizes and the Mashoonga Challenge. Saturday, Nov. 17, 2007 3:00-5:00pm, Sports Basement (across from Heather Farms Park) 1881 Ygnacio Valley Road, Walnut Creek, CA 94598. To find our more and see a video of the game go to http://www.mashoonga.com/

Happy Birthday Danny!!

The love of my life turns 29 today!! Wahooo. The entire family except for Danny is sick which saldy meant that Danny stayed up with the baby for most of the night since Tyler decided not to sleep much. What a way to start your birthday. We celebrated Danny's birthday on Wednesday with my parents, who left for China for 3 weeks, Heather, Jason, Betty & Bob. Danny got an investment book which he is excited about and started to read. He has started to invest in the stock market which is very exciting. It is fun to get our little families portfolio going. He is enjoying a new helmet for the VFR which looks awesome and got new brakes for his bike. We are off to a car show now. 10 reasons I am grateful for Danny:

1. He is the best dad. He plays with Scott non stop and teaches him all these new things including spanish. He takes the baby in the middle of the night so I can get rest and is so full of love for his two little boys.


2. He loves me and would do anything and everything for me.


3. He works so hard for our little family, never gets upset and is always there for us.


4. He loves his job. He is honest, a great dentist and wants the best for everyone.


5. He loves the Lord. Our family revolves around the Lord, prayer and peace (most of the time) which I wouldn't trade for anything.


6. He can do or fix anything he puts his mind to.


7. He allows me to follow my dreams and encourages me to do what makes me happy.


8. He is a kid at heart. He gets excited about the littlest things, which makes me realize I need to stop being so serious sometimes and be a kid again.


9. He cooks for us.


10. He makes me happy..Is there anything more important??

For this I want to say happy birthday Danny. I hope you have a great 29th year!

Cardiology Appointment

Tyler had an EKG, echo and quick pediatric appt today. His echo looked really good. There is some leakage in certain areas which is alright and can even be present in normal hearts. There is a narrowing where they enlarged the aorta using a homograph. Overall, the heart is doing better compared to the last echo a month ago which is great news. The goal is to keep Tyler healthy until his 2nd surgery, which he will hopefully make him much stronger and more able to get through a sickness, which would be very hard for his heart now. He got his first Synagis treatment today which is a monthly medication protecting high risk children from RSV, a common winter virus. Scott and I have had a pretty bad cold for the past week. I was pretty scared that Tyler would get it and we are trying our best to wash our hands and keep the kids away from each other. Instead of worrying about Scott getting sick, we just worry about it getting passed onto Tyler since it could be devastating for his heart. If everything goes well in the next 2 months, Tyler will have his next cardiology check-up at UCSF during his heart cath at the very beginning of January. They are hoping they will also be able to do the second surgery, Glenn Procedure, which routes oxygen-poor blood from the upper half of the body (superior vena cava) by connecting it to the pulmonary artery—which then routes blood to the lungs, 1-2 days after the cath. That would be a great Christmas present if we get to that point. Dr. Azakie, the surgeon, and Dr. Title, who does the cath, will closely examine the results, and determine what can and needs to be fixed in the second surgery as well as doing the Glenn Procedure. They want to fix as much as they can of the smaller problems ie. enlarging the aorta, fixing any leaking valves, etc, since he will hopefully only have 1 more major open heart surgery that is done much later at 3-5 years. His sats were 96% which is great and very good for his brain. His blood pressure is also looking much better with the higher numbers being higher and lower numbers being lower, whatever that means. It has been explained to me but I forget. I am sure after hearing it for the 100th time, I will eventually learn everything. For now, we are becoming quite the experts in heart disease. I think I am going to take it easy these next two months to get Tyler to surgery 2. It is funny how you look forward to getting to the next step because that means he will be stronger if everything goes well. We are quite blessed to have these two little guys in our life. As Tyler was getting some shots today, I felt so fortunate to live where we do with such amazing medical treatment. There are kids all over the world that have so many struggles that we can't even comprehend. For this we are blessed!

Scott & Tylers

Does anyone else think the doll that they used for this picture is really scary?

Ok, so our new stroller is called Phil & Teds, but isn't Scott & Tylers a more suitable name for my stroller? I love the stroller! It isn't a true jogging stroller like our BOB...not as good of shocks, doesn't roll as smoothly, but in my opinion the best double stroller out there. It is so compact and creative. It can be a single stroller, a double stroller with an infant lying flat and later a double stroller with 2 seats when Tyler is big enough to sit. This picture is of my boys eating a jamba juice. Tyler is in the back, lying down, which later turns into a seat. These are the baby inventions that I wish I could think of and become a millionaire. When Scott was a baby Danny came in at 12AM with his million dollar idea. He said, "Heidi, I have a million dollar idea. A machine that warms wipes." "That's my hubby...it was a great invention!" I thought. I loved it and sadly had to inform him that we became parents a couple generations too late because someone had already invented his idea. So what are your million dollar baby ideas? Or are you smart and keeping them top secret?

Tagged By Kerry McMillan

Me trying to swim after the mission...

Alright, Here is my first tag post to give you 7 random facts about my family.

1. I met Danny on LDSlinkup. Danny didn't respond to my email but his friend did out of concern for 2 girls he felt bad for. Thanks Seth.


2. I converted to the church in high school.


3. We can eat ice cream all day long and never get sick of it.


4. I was the first sister return missionary to swim for BYU after my mission.


5. Danny is the Safeway dog food model...check him out with his Collie friend.


6. Danny keeps track of how many times he wears his "dental school suit" that he got at a garage sale for $5. He has worn it 50 times since he has started keeping track.


7. I applied to a masters program to become a therapist at BYU after my mission, but decided to get married and work in commercial sales with my Psychology degree instead.

Tyler's Blessing

We had a great day on Sunday. The blessing was perfect and we were surrounded by family and friends whom we love dearly. Danny's family came in from Utah for the blessing and his mom will be staying until tonight, which has been fun and great since Tyler has had two nights where he was up feeding. It has been nice for us to get some sleep. I was so tired on Sunday night that I went to bed at 6pm...can you believe it? Danny gave Tyler the perfect blessing. He reminded us that Tyler would come and fulfill his mortal mission and will continue to be a beacon of faith and hope to many. He said that he has already touched so many lives and helped increase the faith of others. We feel so blessed to have him in our family. He continues to teach us of love, faith and the importance of family. He is such a strong little guy. To see someone so small go through so much is humbling and makes me realize that so many of my own little trials are so petty. Danny and I have been trying this week to be positive and remember all that we have to be thankful for. We are actually having a contest of who is able to delete negativity from their thoughts. I complained about having to go into work even though I love it (ahh) and Danny complained about something I don't even remember. That is how insignificant the things we sometimes complain about really are. Oh wait, I get another point, he just complained about our hospital pharmacy that just called about Tyler's meds. In his defense, the pharmacy has given us a major run-around and he said, "Watch--we're going to get there and they'll say, 'oh, it's at another pharmacy!'" Anyway, we are trying to remember the many blessings we have and how lucky we are for our family, to live where we do, our jobs and so much more.

Happy Birthday Erika!!

Erika, the last of the "GG's" is 26. Happy Birthday Erika. We went to dinner on Thursday which was a lot of fun. I stayed out until 12:00, got home, fed the baby and was sleeping by 1. I think that I am still tired from the late night. I don't know how I used to stay up until 3-4-5....in high school and not be a zomby the rest of the week. It must be that it was possible to take naps during the days and sleep in when you wanted. Anyway, it was worth it and fun, however, I think that I enjoy my 10pm bedtime though. Here are some pictures. Erika and I are ready for Christmas with the new sweater that Lind's got for her....very cute!! We posed as a christmas tree. Can you tell? A picture of the girls at sushi groove.

Boo!!

So, Scott wouldn't wear the cutest dog outfit that Nicole gave to us because of this giant head it had, which he hated. Leave it to Robin VanOtten, who dresses her kids cuter than anyone I know to bail us out at 5:15 Halloween night with some great halloween costumes. Scott was a monster with eyeballs on top of his head and Tyler was a bat. It was so great seeing Scott trick-or-treat. He screamed at the first door, until he got his candy and was on a mission the rest of the night to collect his candy at each door. Danny was looking forward to taking Scott trick-or-treating all day to see Scott's reaction...I think Danny was just looking forward to stealing the candy. Scott only slowed down when he saw dogs inside the houses and wanted to invite himself in to play with his furry friends. Scott's favorite Halloween candy this year were the lollipops and raisins. When he gave out candy at the door he was a little reluctant thinking he had to give away the candy that could be his, but was a very good helper. . It was a great night that we spent at Heather and Jason's. I love toddlers!!! Nothing compares to seeing your kids get into new and exciting events.