Update On My Little Guy

This has been what poor Ben has looked like all week. I spared you the video, so just imagine screaming and yelling to go with the face... Today I actually saw something I haven't seen in a while...
... his smile!!!

Even though he is still itching a lot, just seeing him smile today has been a relief. I took Ben back to the "new" doctor today and he said that his face looks much better and the white spots in his throat were gone. That 's a good sign, right? We got some new cream for his itching and we are continuing to give him Prednisone, Claritin, Benadryl, and Omnicef. It seems like this really is a Staph and/or Strep infection. And after doing some research on the internet I really think it is Staphylococcal folliculitis. This is when the Staph bacteria invades the hair folicles. A rash appeared today that looks a lot like some pictures I saw on the internet for that same illness. I am hopeful that the worst is in the past. We are giving it the weekend and then come Tuesday if Ben is still itchy then, according to both his doctors, there will be a need to do more tests to see what else is going on with him. The other things that could be wrong with him are not nice, so I don't even want to go there. I am optimistic that my little guy is on his way back to being the funny, silly, goofy, always happy little guy that he is. Thank you so much for all the prayers and phone calls on his behalf.

My Little Guy

My little guy. My funny, silly, goofy, always happy and go lucky little guy hasn't been feeling well lately. For the past 5 days he has been suffering with crazy itchy spells. Episodes so bad that he looks like he is possessed. He rolls around on the floor screaming and yelling because he can't stop itching. And then it's gone, only to come back all too soon. There has been no rash and only 2 days ago did his face start getting wierd red marks on it. I took him to the doctor only to hear him say that he has no idea what 's wrong with Ben. He gave us some medicine which hasn't worked one bit. I called the doctor back the next day telling him we can't take this anymore and he dumped us off onto an allergist to see if he could help. Once again I got the whole "I have no idea what's wrong with this kid answer." He said it's not an allergy to anything. Meanwhile Lee and I have had to just sit and watch Ben thrash around in agony, totally helpless. He won't let us help him or even hold him. The allergist said that his gut was telling him to treat Ben for a Strep and/or Staph infection. So we got some new medicine yesterday. I am not sure if it is working yet but I am hopeful. I feel like today could be a good day. I choose to think positive although my heart is breaking for this little guy. I guess the next step if the medicine doesn't work would be to do some blood work to see if there is anything seriously wrong, possibly with his liver. He could use some extra prayers. We will stay strong and keep you updated on Ben.

Back To School

Yesterday was the kids first day of school. We are all so sad that the summer had to come to an end. Summer seemed extra short this year for us. But it will be good to get back into a routine. All the kids handled it so well. It was the first year that they all allowed me to leave after I dropped them off at their classes. I don't know if I should be happy about that or sad.

Eva started 2nd grade and has lots of friends in her class. I have no doubt she will flourish this year.

Emma started 4th grade and she lucked out. She was seated right next to her good friend Annika.

Ben at first was a little hesitant, but it didn't take him long at all to get into the groove of kindergarten.

Ella couldn't get out the door soon enough. She is taking pre-school right across the street at our neighbors house.
It will be so convenient to just watch her walk over there. I kept stopping her to take pictures and she just wanted to go. She will have so much fun in pre-school this year.

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I am so sad to see them all go. I will miss them. These little kiddies are growing up so fast. Lately I have been feeling like I just can't get enough time with them. At the same time I have to admit that I am looking forward to a little ME time.

Good Friends=Good Fun

All summer I have heard my friends talking about Grace's backyard and how fun it is. We finally made it there to see for ourselves. Grace is a lady who's kids are grown and opens up her backyard once a week for anyone who wants to come swim and hang out. Her backyard is paradise. A pool, a coy pond, beautiful gardens, hammocks and many fun things for the kids to play on make it almost magical. A bunch of us girls got together with our many kids to bask in the summer heat and end it on a high note. Ben, Eva, Kayla, and Emma posing in front of the tree house.
Ella being, well, Ella.
My little toothless D'Eva D.
Ella loved the diving board and couldn't get enough of it.
I guess all the kids felt the same way. Here Jason is showing us just how creative he can be when diving into a pool.
Sweet little friends, Ella and Amalie
Kute Kayla

Emma, Lizzie and Hannah loved jumping in at the same time.
Playful Parker
Both Ben and Ella loved the swings and couldn't go high enough.

Kade, Branson, and Jason were racing like Michael Phelps. And the winner was...
Kade and Jason tied for the Gold Medal.
I caught Halle having a quick snack.
I don't remember ever seeing Connor out of the water. What a little fish.
Little Gavin just chillin like a villian.

Ben being his usual silly self
Kade showed off some impressive jumping in skills as well.
Ian showed me some mean flips on the trampoline.
Speaking of flips, I thought I'd give one a try. I have never done one before. Why in the world would I, a 32 year old "pleasantly plump" mother of four with a bum hip think I need to try now? All I'll say was that it wasn't pretty. At least the kids got a kick out of it.
And then there's graceful Mara showing us all her diving expertise. Look at the posture!
What a great day this was. Thanks to Amber, Chrissie, Heidi, Lauren, Mara and kiddos for a great end of summer get together. And of course thanks to Grace for letting us borrow her amazing backyard!

Jack-ey Baby

Alas, the day finally arrived, Jack Johnson's concert. Neil Halstead's Band and Rogue Wave opened for him. While they were performing, we snapped some pics.

There's this......and then some of this...

...and then more of this...

...and then the moment we had been waiting the whole summer for. Jack definitely did not disappoint. And his sidekick Zach on the piano and accordian, not to mention great vocals as well, was just as amazing. We are new fans of his.

We captured some video for your viewing enjoyment. Sadly I had to cut them all down in order to get them on the blog. But their still worth watching...

All At Once

These were some songs that were performed:

Hope

Flake

Taylor

Sitting, Waiting, Wishing

Sleep Through The Static

Go On

Upside Down

Do You Remember

Bubble Toes

Wasting Time

Fall Line

Constellations

Breakdown

Banana Pancakes

Same Girl

Staple It Together

Rodeo Clown

If I Had Eyes

Good People

All At Once

Times Like These

Gone

Better Together

and others

Bubble Toes

This next video Lee took and you'd think he had a few too many. Sorry for the shakiness. I had to include it though because Jack made a cute little smirk. See if you can find it.

Banana Pancakes

I think the only thing that could have made it better for us is if Jack played Holes to Heaven or Monsoon. I was really hoping for those two. Nevertheless, it really was a great night. We had so much fun!

We're "Goin Back To Cali" Part 6

This last leg of our trip was spent, once again, in the water. We went down to the spot at the beach where my dad used to meet all of his surfing buddies every Saturday. My dad once again back in the water.
This is my cousin, Delen who came down to catch a few waves. It was really nice to see him.
The girls testing out the water temp.
This is my Uncle Jack. I am so glad we got to see him too. He tried so hard to get my kids on his surfboard but they wouldn't. That is one thing I know they would have loved if they would have only tried. He was so sweet with them.
Lee
My dad and Lee playing a little Smashball.
We met my good friends Marissa and Jenni and their kids. This is Emma with Kobe, Avalon, Cashel, and Jackson. I cannot believe how they have all grown!

Can I just say how much I love how Ella loves the beach. She obviously does not have any issues with the sand. I think she is me reincarnated.
After we said our goodbyes to family and friends, and the beach, we headed to Nani's pool. I really think my kids are half fish. If I looked closely enough I bet I could spot gills. They would have stayed in that pool till dark if we would have let them.
The only way to get them out was to promise we would come back the next day. And so we did.

This last day of our trip we spent relaxing and preparing for our trip home.
When we first thought about our summer vacation the kids immediately chimed in that they wanted to go "Back to Cali". There was never any question about where to go. All they wanted to do was see family. I love that.
I really hope family will always stay an important part of their lives.

Our trip really couldn't have been any better than it was. We had a blast. It was sad to leave our loved ones. We had so much fun with all of them. Old memories were brought back to life and new memories were made, memories that we will cherish forever. We love you all and can't wait to see you again!