Busy Boys!

Tonight was the cub scout fundraiser for camp. That means spaghetti dinner and cake auction. I was using this photo as my goal for the cake I wanted to make. But it didn't quite work out this well.
This was the final outcome of the cake. It kind of fell apart in the car. So we had to redo the top part. Andrew was still happy with the results so that is all that matter. We both had frosting all over us by the time we got to the church.

This is what it looked like at home. Not as good as I would have liked. I did not think about how marshmallows are gooey and bendy. Not as stable as I would have liked. It was a fun experiment! All the kids loved it. I think the big chocolate kiss on the top helped!

Andrew working hard helping put on the windows.

Too Cool Vincent- Ready for a scout hike and overnight at Umtaneum.

Vincent -Alex- Neal- watch out leaders. They look ready for trouble. They should have good weather. About time.

I am glad Vincent has good friends in Scouts. Yeah!

Surgery

Here is the stuff they cut out of Gary. The doctor says that blog is about the size of a quarter. You can see the dark part is where it is starting to die. Who knows how long it would take for it all to die. All I know is too long. So I am really glad they got it out. The Doctor hopes that this is what was hurting him so much. We will know when he starts to recover.

Gary all prepped for surgery. Overlake has some pretty fancy rooms for this. Everyone was very nice.

Gary in the latest Overlake fashion. He said he did not want to shave till they fixed him. This was a few weeks ago. I think he will shave soon.

The surgery went well, and they took out his appendicitis just in case. I am very glad about this. Knowing Gary he would have problems with this next. They did the surgery laproscopicly (?) and they were in the same area so it makes sense. They were talking about cutting out some of his colon. I am glad they did not have to do that. I think that was worst case scenario.

Today Gary is having alot of pain in his shoulders and neck. When they do this type of surgery they pump air in the cavity to help give them room to do the surgery and to find things. So now the air is trying to escape. This why the shoulders ache and the neck area. Not sure if it affects the nerve receptors to the shoulders or if the air has gone up and is trying to escape and is being absorbed by those areas. The body really is an amazing thing.

I am glad that Gary is home. He thinks he will be ready for work Monday. We love our Gary!

Hospital and Police all in one day!

Had a long day at the hospital and came home to the neighbors calling and letting me know the police were questioning Andrew and Andrey about a car that stopped and ask them if they wanted a ride. The boys were good and went straight home after the incident and told Andrey's Mom and she called the police. I went over and chatted with the police and the boys.

All is well both with Gary and Andrew. Gary had surgery and it went very well. More info tomorrow. Very tired and still have some work to catch up on tonight.

Love to all and thanks for all your prayers.

Tyler is Married!

Tyler and Tiffany Erickson!

Daniel was excited to see everyone! Lots of waving and hugs!

Tiffany looked beautiful and Tyler looked handsome in his uniform!

I thought Tylers expression was great!

Scotty and Krisse! Scotty is so tall and handsome!

Cute photo of Tiffany taking a quick break!

They had thier recpetion at Bell 1st Ward building. They decorated it great! It was fun to see everyone. I hear the wedding went great. The couple looked very happy! I think they are off to North Carolina next week to report back to duty for the Marines! Linda did a great job on the Reception! Yeah Linda!

Colonoscopy Today!

Gary's Colonoscopy went good today. He does not have Cancer- so that is good. But we did not think he did to begin with. But they needed to rule that out. They took a few samples of tissue and found a very small polyp, and they cut that off to test. Gary said it was pretty painful at times. They tried to put him out, but he stayed awake for the whole procedure. They did not let me in. I guess they have problems with family watching because they get sick or faint. I think because we get in the way.

I did talk to the doctor and did not get very far. I was upset when I got home. So I called my Mom and vented. I was going to go back and talk to another his doctors, but I know what they will say. "They don't want to do anything till they see the test results". I will have Gary leave them another email message to make a game plan of what to do next. And call the doctor's office for an appointment.

I am glad that is done. I am glad that they did not find any huge problems in the colon.

Epiploic Appendagitis is still the main problem. As far as I know.

Happy Easter

Are you ever too old for an egg hunt? Vincent does not think so.

A new twist- chocolate teddy bear. With marshmellow inside.

Goofy Andrew! He was very happy to go on the hunt!

My Boys are Home!

We picked up Vincent last night from the airport. We were so excited to see him! He smiled for quick second. He is definitely a teenager.

Andrew was very happy to have Vincent home!

We are slowly getting information about the trip. It sounds like everything went well. Everyone got along well and nobody got hurt. A few people got alittle sick. I hope they are all fine now. Luckily Vincent is like me and the bugs don't really like our blood.

We sent him with a camera and told him to take alot of photos. Half way thru one of the chaperone's camera broke and Vincent let her use his. Yeah! She saved the day. She said she took a lot of photos. She is uploading the photos this week. I think everyone will get their photos together and share them.

Highlights of the trip he said were: Zip Line- rafting- seeing lots of wild animals. He was disappointed he did not see any crocodiles or snakes. He was searching for those. Vincent spotted monkeys, a sloth, lots of lizards, iguanas and cool birds.

Wedding shower for Future Mrs. Erickson!

Cute Tiffany! Excited to be married! Krisse and I got her wedding announcement framed. It turned out really cute. Good job Krisse. Tyler is not home yet. I don't think they know exactly when he will get here. Hopefully soon. :-)

It was fun to see family and friends again. It has been a while that we have gotten together. It is fun to see each other for a good reason. Does the chandelier look familiar? Dorothy would be very happy to see it. Her awesome punch bowl was used also! It is nice that Dorothy still helps put on a great party!

I missed having the Westra girls around. I cant wait to see them at the end of the month. One more wedding shower this weekend for Betsy! I love spring!

Costa Rica -Arsenal Volcano

We just got this photo of Vincent. He is in Costa Rica on a trip with some school kids. This is a volcano called Arsenal.

I have not talked to him yet. But from the photos the chaperone's are sending it looks like fun!

http://fuzzyshot.com/cogsworth33 is the link for the photos that they are sending us. Not the best but better than nothing. Super cool they can send from such remote places!

Happy Birthday Gary!

As seen on Tv
Gary says he feels like a priest with his Snuggie on. He says he is blessing everyone with his robe on!

Gary had a quiet day working from home. He had lots of work to do so his office could get paid. I had early morning meetings and then worked from Northgate most of the day.

At home Gary opened up his presents- He got a Snuggie! I know that was the high light of his birthday! Also some cadbury chocolate's and shortbread cookies. Then we went out for dinner at the Keg. Gary got his favorite Peppercorn Steak. The messed up my order, so we got a free dessert! They didn't even mess up that bad. Oh well, score for us. Then we came home and watched a movie.

It was a nice evening. We are missing the boys. But we know they are both having a great time!

Happy Birthday Gary! I Love You!

You are the best! A great Dad and Husband!

I am so grateful to have you!

April 17th!!

This is when Gary's colonoscopy (?) is scheduled. I am fuming. Since they merged with Overlake Hospital, Group Health has to coordinate with them and doctors. So this is the soonest we could get it. So they will do this procedure and then schedule surgery? Then will I have to wait longer for that.

If Gary has serious pain again I will go straight to the ER and then have them admit him. That way I we might get this ball rolling.

So now Gary knows my plan and is pretending to not be in pain. He knows I am serious about bringing him in.

I have to remember to be grateful that I have insurance and a job.

Don't worry I am staying positive! :-)

I gave away my Young Womens Binder!

So sad. I scratched off my name and cleaned out my junk and passed on my Young Women's book to Joni. Feels so weird to not be looking at it to see what is next to do.

My Boys Are Gone Today!

Vincent is probably in Costa Rica right now. He left the house at 4:30am! Good thing a friend came and got him! He was kind of cranky the night before he left. I am sure he was getting nervous. Also I was getting on his nerves, going over everything with him over and over again. Checking his pack ect.

Vincent is on a trip with a bunch of kids from school who have been in his Spanish Immersion class. They have all gone to school together since Kindergarten. Big 8th graders now. They have been planning this trip for two years. Well since Kindergarten really. I think it will be a trip they will never forget. I sure hope he is careful. They are with a Eco Tour group. One of the parents have been sending photos already to a website. Not sure how they are doing it. But we got some photos from the airport already.

Andrew went to Utah all by himself. Of course we paid to have him watched by the airlines. It went great. He was so brave. He is going to spend spring break with Grandma and Grandpa Westra. He is excited to see all his cousins and Uncles and Aunts.

Thumbs up! All ready to go! He said it was fun to watch out the window. Flying in clouds and seeing snow. He had the whole row to him self.

Andrew all packed and ready to go. Vincent would not even go down stairs by himself at this age. Funny how they are all so different.

Gary and I are home alone. My job is to get Gary all better. The Surgeon is going to try and get him in to do a scope on him, and then maybe do surgery soon. They are trying to get everything scheduled. No dates yet. Hopefully we will hear tomorrow.

I will bring Gary to work tomorrow so he can get the commission reports done. His crew wants to get paid. So we will go in for a while. It is nice that I can work from there and home. We really are blessed to have flexible jobs. My phone forwards to my cell. So I never miss a call. Good most of the time.

I plan on getting thing organized in the house this weekend. So many projects that have been neglected.

Peace out!

New shirts from England!

Vincent and Andrew got a package delivered to them yesterday! They were very excited about their new shirts Nana and Grandad sent to them from England. It was class picture day at school for Andrew and he wanted to wear is new shirt. He said everyone loved it and made alot of nice comments about it.

Thank you Grandma and Grandpa Sarchet! They both love them!