Just before Thanksgiving Warren got the opportunity to perform with other Houston area Suzuki students (in his level) at Ribbon Festival. He has been learning songs with his left hand that he already knew with his right hand, to help improve his technique.
Warren playing "Honey Bee" (left hand) at Suzuki Ribbon Festival
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Warren playing "Lightly Row" (left hand) at Suzuki Ribbon Festival
The judges take notes and critique technique and performance as he played.
Warren is presented with his medal. ;) The judges were pleased with his great tone
and dropping in while he played.
He did great! It is fun to see his confidence grow. He was much more so than his first recital!
In November the boys and I decided to tag-a-long on a short business trip with Weston. He goes to court in Corpus Christi often and since I had never seen the "best beaches" this side of Texas, we decided to check it out. We had a fun little weekend. We hung out in the hotel and had so much fun relaxing on the beach. The boys ran races, found seashells, jelly-fish, a dead eel, a bunch of dead fish that looked like pirana (we google searched and found they are some time of snapper referred to as "pirana of the gulf") and lots of abandoned logs from beach fires. We also went on a long walk down the beach. The beaches and water were prettier than Galveston and the weather was perfect! We even saw several dolphins on the ferry ride on the way back home. We had such a fun time. We are excited to plan a longer trip there this year. Here are some pics for your enjoyment!
Weston's mom and sister came to visit us the second week of October for about 4.5 days. It's always nice to have visitors and we were happy that Lacey finally decided to come visit us for the first time since we moved from Utah almost 9 years ago! We know she really came for Misty but its ok, we still love her anyway. ;)
She brought along her little girl Astoria. It was our first time meeting her and she sure is a sweetheart. It was fun for me to see little girl things spread about the house while they were here. We were so happy to get to spend time with them all. As you can see we took them to our favorite place - The Beach!
"spear fishing"
Sand Castles
The weather was perfect.
I was still recovering from surgery so I just relaxed with Oliver all day.
It was a really nice break for us all.
This was Oliver's first time at the beach. He loved it.
Getting to know Ya Ya.
Can you tell Astoria know's exactly what a camera is? She's a diva alright!
She was so cute in her little ruffle suit and sun hat. :)
The last day they were here I talked Lacey into going on a walk with me. Jan & Weston went on a gas station run for drinks. Weston was dying from thirst and claimed he could not walk without a Diet Dr Pepper. They came and found us and offered us treats and beverages. Jan got out and walked with us from there and Weston joined us by driving along side us at 2 mph.
Yes, Jan was mooning the camera but lacked the courage to drop her drawers in day light. The next day we took them to see the Houston Temple but we had to bribe Jan with candy bars to keep her lady like manners in check. ;) Thanks for coming out Jan & Lacey! We sure enjoyed your visit!
A few days before my surgery, Weston's car was in the shop being repaired and
I took the boys for a fun cruise in our rental.
I wanted to squeeze in a date with them before the big day.
We had a blast!
Warren has always been a pretty serious kid but the older he gets the more his sense of humor and playfulness shines brighter. This was one of those moments I accidentally caught on video.
He makes me smile.
(Video only available on the blog)
We drove around for over and hour and a half rocking out. Then,
went through the drive through at Chik-Fil-A for ice cream. :)
Just before my surgery Weston snapped this picture just in case I died.
Nice, huh?
Even though I passed my stress test prior to surgery we were both pretty nervous to say the least.
I am smiling only because he was being a goof and told me he thought
I looked hot in this hospital gown.
I am so grateful for all his support through everything!
Speaking of cheerleaders? This 3 month old little boy has been an ANGEL sent from heaven!
I think I gave him about 1 million kisses this day. :)
Getting surgery is a funny thing. I have had three c-sections but was always awake during each. I had never been put all the way out before. I was way nervous of course because of all my heart stuff but man once the anesthesia set in..... life was AWESOME!! The anesthesiologist said he was going to give me a little martini and then they'd roll me into surgery. Well, that is the last thing I remember! They claimed that I was talking and moved myself onto the surgical table and all...but I don't remember any of it! I just remember waking up in recovery with the most peaceful feeling EVER. It was fantastic!
I have actually dreamed about that moment, since. Is that bad? ha ha
Well Dr Quast, my 79 year old surgeon, said the surgery went well although it did end up taking about an hour longer than he had expected. He said that my gallbladder had many adhesions from having MANY gallbladder attacks therefore he had to do a lot more cutting to get the darn thing out! Well, all I can say is I think that thing was acting up for a long time and it was sucking the life out of me! I also didn't have any bradycardia (heart rate dropping) issues during the surgery which is a HUGE relief! All I can say is I feel SO much better since having that darn thing out! My back pain is gone and my energy has quadrupled! I am so grateful for a healthy body!
This is where it gets ridiculous. You know how they say trouble comes in threes? Well, the day after my surgery Warren ended up at the ER getting stitches from cutting the bread that we asked him not to cut. This was the picture Weston texted me as I was trying to figure out how I would pick up Benjamin who had just cried "mommy I'm not feeling very good"....
This was him for the next two days. I have never seen him so sick.
I guess it was a blessing? Despite the continual fever and vomit, he was more subdued than usual those days. Weston was back at work and I just sort of hobbled back and forth with the bucket.
We were a pathetic site! lol I am so grateful this is all over!
Speaking of gratitude, over the last 4 months my life has been filled with blessings and many angels around us to help us through a physically and emotionally exhausting time. My husband to name the first, a few family members and lots of wonderful friends.
The Lord has taken care of us. I worried before I had the baby about having the help I needed, when I needed it. As people have visited, baby sat, brought delicious and creative meals, smiles, hugs, a listening ear, baby gifts, flowers, encouragement, yummy bread & elbows ready to clean....I have been absolutely filled with gratitude. Each time I have a baby I keep a "Thank You" list so I don't forget to send off a note to each person. It is humbling to look at the list as it grew...day by day. I had a large box of Thank You's and ran out of cards! I am so grateful for the wonderful examples of integrity, unconditional love and support around us. It is these Christlike examples I want to follow and pay forward throughout my life. We are blessed. :)
In September Opa (Weston's dad) came to Texas for work and
he was here for 3 weeks.
During the week days he was gone but
we were lucky to get to spend the weekends with him.
We blessed Oliver while he was here and the boys were especially
happy to have him around to be silly with. :)
Opa & Oliver getting to know each other.
Ollie was about 2 months here.
There was never a quiet moment.
As soon as he would sit down on the couch the boys
would pile on, one by one, and snuggle up.
He even let them play angry birds on his ipad. :)
While he was here he helped Weston with a few projects around the house. They fixed the leaky tub, which turned into an all day project, nearly breaking the tub! ;) He also helped clean/snake out our dryer vent. What a grose job! It was taking us a minimum of 2-3 cycles to dry garments and this is why!!
It was packed with lint and all kinds of stuff you really don't want to hear about.
The important part is that it is fixed and we can now dry a load of towels in 1 cycle! Thanks Lynn!
We really appreciate your help!
******************
Also in September, Benjamin finally had his
surgery for meetal stenosis!
We had scheduled it a few times.
I was nervous about him having to be put under
and in the process of rescheduling the doctor told me that he often
can do the surgery with older kids with only partial sedation.
So, we coached and bribed him
with a trip to Toys-R-Us and wah-lah!
He braved it like a champ!
Here he is in the waiting room. I am certain I was more nervous than he was but he did great.
He was really sore for about 5 days. Each time he had to potty we had to sit in a warm bath tub to ease the stinging. We felt so bad for the little man.
When you enter the surgical unit of Texas Children's Hospital there are these tap dancing rhinestone cows ("Fred Asteer" and "Ginger Udders" I think). Anyways, when Benjamin saw them he ran up to them in awe and said "Mom, these are AMMMMAZING!" and insisted I take his picture by them. So there you have it. The iphone picture doesn't really do them justice... but they were very sparkly! ;)
Halloween was great this year. We haven't had a family theme for a few years but the boys really wanted to be characters from Peter Pan so after a full week of sewing, nursing and completely neglecting my house..... I present to you.....
Warren as Peter Pan...
Ben as Cap'n Hook...
Ben was so good! He wore his "hook hair" the entire night and the trunk or treat and on Halloween! It took some serious pirate spin on my part but thankfully he bought it! ;)
Oliver as Smee...
I had already bought him a Pea in the Pod costume but they insisted.
I admit. I loved the idea!
I was Wendy...
Friday, at the ward trunk or treat, we even got Weston to be the crocodile!
It's the first time he has dressed up for halloween in 8 years! We were so excited! lol
I just love my boys. Don't they look awesome!?
Before Stake Conference on Saturday, we went to Zoo Boo at the Houston Zoo with our friends the Kiefers. It is always so much fun. They have all kinds of fun activities, trick or treating and a free pumpkin patch. This year they had an amazing dance company come and host a dance stage. They had AMAZING costumes and taught the kids the thriller dance. It's a little hard to see but most of the professional dancers where on the front row.The tall things in the back are giraffes on stilts.
Our friends the Keifers wore their costumes to Zoo Boo. Needless to say they were a very popular act at the Zoo. I think we had about 400 people comment on their costume. "Oh, look (followed by a gasp, giggle or jump) their a SMORE! It was pretty funny!
As you can see, the boys had a fun day.
Warren's 1st Grade Class at the Costume Parade
Sitting by his "friend who is a girl" Kloey. ;)
They have become quite the little buddies and often have play dates.
He told me he was excited to see her in her costume because he thought she would look beautiful. :)
