Adventures with Andy

If you know Katie’s brother, Andy, you know when you are with him you will have an adventure - this winter was no different. Andy was in town for about a month doing a short residency with a family practice doctor in Provo so we were able to have lots of adventures.

January 9, 2009 - Getting a second opinion:

Kenny had a massive sinus infection that antibiotics from our regular family doctor weren’t making any better. Well, Dr. Andy did his own diagnosis and prescribed a different treatment plan – a nasal lavage. To accomplish this, we needed to acquire a 50 ml syringe to “wash” out Kenny’s sinuses. We were on our way from Provo to Logan at the time so locating a syringe was narrowed down to a local Walgreen's in Clearfield. We went to the pharmacy and asked if they had what we were looking for. They looked around and then said they didn’t have something that big. We thanked them for looking and started to walk away when the clerk called out to us and said she knows of something else that might work. She told us we could use an enema kit to accomplish the same thing. We all agreed that might work so we went to the isle to locate the kit. Dang, they were all sold out. So we kept searching the shelves and found a travel douche kit. We all looked at each other then agreed that it could do the job as well. We bought it!
We arrived in Logan at Kenny’s parents house. We took our bags in the house and quickly found a mug and the box of salt in the cupboard and took them along with the travel douche down to the bathroom. Dr. Andy’s treatment plan was about to begin.

Dr. Andy let the water run until it was the right temperature then filled up the mug with water and poured about 2 tablespoons of salt into the mug. He stirred it up, tasted it and decided it was the perfect blend.

Dr. Andy poured the mixture into the bag then added the nozzle to it. Kenny inserted the nozzle into his nose and squeezed the mixture into his nose. He said it killed and that his nose felt worse after doing it. So Dr. Andy and Kenny agreed they should do it again but a little slower this time. Dr. Andy again made the mixture, Kenny stuck his head in the sink and did the second application. Afterwards, Kenny said his sinuses did feel a little better. So I guess it was worth it after all.

For all those that are reading this story, just remember if your treatment isn’t working, ask for a second opinion.

January 10, 2009 – Skiing at Powder Mountain:

Kenny, Katie and Andy had a great day of skiing at Power Mountain. It was a Saturday but there weren’t a ton of people at the resort. And even though it hadn’t snowed for almost a week, there was a ton of untouched powder. It was a little slice of heaven for Andy who loves to ski powder. It was a beautiful, sunny day but a tad cold. All in all, we had a blast!!


January 17, 2009 – Snowmobiling at Strawberry Reservoir:

We picked the best day to go snowmobiling with Andy. It was a beautiful, sunny Saturday. We loaded our stuff up first thing in the morning, had some breakfast and set out for a day of fun. When we arrived at the parking lot and saw how many cars there were, we were worried that the trails might be a little crowded that day but that wasn’t the case at all.

We set out on a groomed trail not really knowing where we were headed. We followed the trail for a little bit then stopped because we all needed to shed a layer or two.

Once we were higher up in the Mountains, we took off into untraveled areas and ended up finding this wide open beautiful meadow with lots and lots of big hills and jumps. Andy and Kenny had a blast jumping cornices and drop-offs. Andy tried to learn how to carve the snow with the snowmobile – something Kenny had started to master while we were riding that day.

What adventure would be complete without Kenny having to fix something? This adventure was no different. Kenny’s machine all of a sudden stopped. He couldn’t get the engine to restart and stay on. He flipped open the hood and started pulling and poking at things and nothing seemed to work. He thought there might be an issue with the fuel line, which was something that couldn’t be fixed on the mountain. Then after 5 or 10 minutes of trying to figure out what the issue was , Andy looked at the steering column and noticed the safety cable was pulled out. Kenny plugged it in and everything was all better.


Here are some sweet photos of Andy and Kenny jumping their sleds:

And a great photo of the three of us - on top of the world:

We had a great day together!!!

Haven's 12th Birthday

It is official…Haven is 12 years old. He is a “tween”. We celebrated his birthday in Logan with the Atkins family. We all sang Happy Birthday, Haven blew out his candles and we ate cake. That was about the extent of it. It's fun to have his birthday on Christmas because all the family is together but on the other hand, we don’t usually do a big party with gifts since we all give Christmas/birthday gifts on the same day. I think 2009 may be the year to implement mid-year birthday parties so he can have a celebration with all his friends and do an activity.

Christmas with the Atkins

Christmas arrived on the same day it does every year at the Atkins house. This year was pretty low-key during the holidays. We didn’t over do it with gifts or obligations to do tons of activities. It was just a peaceful holiday – as it should be.

Our family spent Christmas Eve with Katie’s parents and her brother, Andy, who was in town from D.C. We had a very tasty dinner and then played cards until late in the evening. Just as we do every year, we read the story of the birth of Christ from a 19th century Bible Katie’s dad obtained in England while serving his mission there (he found the Bible at an antique shop and traded it for a copy of the Book of Mormon.)

After dreaming of sugarplum fairies, we woke up Christmas Day, opened gifts and had a delicious breakfast. It was a very needed break from the daily hustle and bustle of our regular days.

I DID IT! I'M DONE WITH SCHOOL!!!

I did it! I'm finally finished with school! It took me three years of serious hard work to get to this point but I'm grateful for every moment of the journey.

I took my last final exams today/tonight. When I got home, although I felt a HUGE sense of relief to have everything over with, I had a strange feeling - I didn't know what I was supposed to do. The house was clean, dishes done, laundry done, etc. Haven was working on homework and Kenny was on the computer. I didn't know what I should be doing since I am so use to studying. It was a very weird feeling. I'm sure that feeling will go away very quickly as I get back into a normal life of family, work, cooking meals, keeping the house clean, meeting the neighbors (some for the first time), spending time with friends and keeping Kenny and Haven in check.

There is no doubt I'm glad I'm done with school. I will likely start something up to keep myself busy. I just don't know what that is yet. We'll see what the next chapter in life brings my way :).

A huge THANK YOU to everyone that has supported me through this phase of my life. You have supported not only me but my family as well. Thank you, thank you, thank you! I wouldn't be at this point in life without your support, love and encouragement.

Leaves and Doggies - a fun mix

Kenny woke up early on Saturday to rake the leaves before the big snow storm. He is brilliant! He laid out a big tarp on the lawn and raked all the leaves on to the tarp. He tied up the tarp with rope, threw the bundle in the back of his truck, and took it to BYU to dump in the recycle bin. This took about 10 or 15 minutes. If he would have bagged all the leaves, it would have taken hours.

We had a little fun with the dogs before Kenny took the leaves away. We threw Dacy in the middle of the leaf pile. She disappeared! The leaves shook for a second then everything was still - she gave up on trying to find her way out of the pile. Cute little Sherby decided to go in after her. He jumped right in the pile and started looking for her. It was really cute!

Thanksgiving with the Atkins

Kenny and I went to Wyoming to spend Thanksgiving with his brother's family, Jason, Tonya and their kids. It was a great weekend. It was the first time I was one of the people in charge of cooking. I usually just show up and eat but not this year. I was a guest cook in Tonya's kitchen. We did a great job. She told me what was on the menu and I tried my best to remember how to cook, add ingredients, and find my way around her kitchen.

After some effort, we produced delicious green beans, stuffing, apple tarts, rolls, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes and gravy. The boys were in charge of making the turkey. We had smoked turkey - probably the best I've ever eaten.


I think my favorite part of that weekend was washing dishes. We washed dishes by hand. Morgan pulled up a chair to the sink and rinsed after Tonya washed. I was in charge of drying and seeing if I could figure out where things went in the cupboards. But my favorite part was seeing Morgan and Tonya sing as they did dishes. It gave me a very warm feeling of the love they have in their home and the fun they have together as a family. It made me grateful to be there at that moment to witness that happiness and be reminded of the small things that count in life.

Clive looks more like a slug these days

Clive looks more like a slug these days than the caterpillar he started out as. He is ready for this semester to be over so he can turn into a butterfly and fly freely away from the demands of school. I have 4 days of class left and final exams and then I will be DONE!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yahoooooo!!!!!

His and Hers

Dacy and Sherby are spoiled – we all know that. So why not continue the spoiling. Kenny and I found these cute beds for the dogs and they LOVE THEM. They even sleep in the right one - pink for Dacy and blue for Sherby. It really is quite cute to walk in the room and see them snuggling in their own beds. If we can get them to sleep the night in their own beds, Kenny and I can forego the purchase of the King size bed for ourselves!!

Family Field Trip

We tacked on a few days to our anniversary mini-vacation and had Haven join us in Park City/Deer Valley on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. We had a great time!

We slept in Saturday morning, which was very needed by me. I have a great appreciation for sleep and I’ll take as much as I can when it is available. Once we were up and functioning, we decided to get some breakfast at one of our favorite hole-in-the-wall cafés – The Hub in Heber City. As we were eating breakfast, we realized we didn’t really have a plan for the day. We could go back to the condo and lounge or we could make a plan. Since we aren’t really the lounging type of family, Kenny said he would surprise us with our destinations for the day.

We left The Hub and Kenny drove us over to the Heber Valley Railroad Station. I’m sure all of you reading this blog are aware of Haven’s deep interest in trains. This was a special treat just for Haven. We were able to walk around the rail yard and check things out. I’m amazed at the amount of knowledge Haven has in his head about trains. Quiz him next time you see him!

After the stop at the train station, Kenny told us to hop in the car and prepare for a bit of a drive. Where were we going?? Kenny was very clever in his planning. He took us to the Hill Air Force Museum in Clearfield. Haven has been very interested in warplanes lately and Kenny thought it would be fun for him to see some in real life instead of in a book. See, the night before we were at Barnes and Noble and Haven purchased an encyclopedia type book about almost every military aircraft built complete with all the facts on each one. He carried around the book in the museum so he could look up different facts about the planes. It was the kind of museum field trip every parent desires – a fully engaged child that wants to be there and wants to learn while they are there.

We had a really great time! And we did something special for Kenny – we ate at Burger Bar in Roy. That is Kenny’s favorite place to eat but they are in Roy so he doesn’t get to enjoy a “Big Ben” as often as he would like. Kenny - thanks for planning such a fun day at the last minute!

Happy Anniversary

Kenny and I celebrated our 8th wedding anniversary today. It has been quite a fun adventure while at the same time a growing and learning time in our lives. I’m ready for the next 8 years. Are you Hunny? No time to think - ready, set go!!!

We had a lovely evening together. We went to dinner at the Tree Room at Sundance – some of the tastiest food I’ve eaten. I highly recommend it to anyone. Then we snuck off to Park City/Deer Valley to stay the rest of the weekend at a condo Kenny reserved for the weekend.

The next morning we enjoyed a delicious breakfast in Salt Lake at Eggs In The City. Again, very tasty food that I highly recommend to anyone. We then headed off to be pampered for several hours at the Kura Door day spa. Yes, Kenny went to a day spa. We enjoyed ourselves and walked out VERY relaxed and refreshed. We will be going back there very soon!

It was a great mini-vacation for us and an anniversary to remember. Thanks Hunny! Love you!

Pedicures

I've raised my son right! He was willing to have a pedicure with me - wax and all. I was fun! Haven was a sport to do this and he said he enjoyed it. He liked how soft his feet were afterwards. We might need to go do this again...soon!

Clive is getting shorter...

Clive is getting shorter and shorter – this is a good thing! I have 11 classes left until the semester is over and school is finished . WOO HOO!!!!!!!!!

Halloween

This was Haven’s last Halloween parade at school since he is in 6th grade and Junior High doesn’t appreciate displaying good costumes on Halloween. The drawback was that Haven is old enough now that it is cooler to hang out with his friends than to pose for a picture for your parents. Oh well, he looked great as a grim reaper and had a great time with all the school activities that day. He went trick-or-treating with his dad and their family. Halloween wasn’t quite the same at our house since he was gone. In fact, we put out a bowl of candy on our doorstep and only a few pieces were taken by the end of the night.

Hockey and Home Surgery – Not a good mix…

Kenny and a few buddies have grown up playing hockey. In fact, Kenny continued to play hockey after high school in various adult leagues and drop-in tournaments. He is really quite good! So these buddies got bit by the hockey bug and decided to go to a drop-in session at the Peaks Arena in Provo. Drop-in starts playing at 10:30 PM and they play through the wee hours of the morning.

So, I’m sitting at home doing homework and I look at the clock and its almost 1:00 in the morning. All of a sudden I hear the door creek open and Kenny comes walking downstairs. At first, he looks normal – just a little flushed from the exercise and cold ice. Then I take another look at him and he has a HUGE gash in his eyebrow from a good knock to the head with a hockey stick. It definitely needed stitches. Of course Kenny was too tough to get stitches so he goes in his hobby room and grabs some super glue and hands it to me. I get to be the surgeon – the one responsible for the scar that will remain on his eyebrow. Was I willing to do this???? Heck yes! I was very nervous but after a few drops of glue were in the wound I squished the skin together and let it dry. I didn’t consider that I would adhere to the wound and as I pulled my fingers off, it pulled the skin apart and the glue quickly re-dried with the skin separated.

Next time you see Kenny and notice the huge scar on his eyebrow you can laugh at both of us. Laugh at Kenny for not getting professional medical assistance and laugh at me for not thinking through the procedure well enough and leaving my husband with a funky scar on his eyebrow.

Halloween at the Atkins

Are you ready for Halloween? Haven seems to be...






Okay, this was too much fun to watch Haven do and not participate so I jumped in on the fun. Haven and I had a BLAST making these freaky pictures.




And then Kenny saw how much fun we were having and he also joined in the fun.






Aahhhh...good, wholesome family fun. Happy Halloween everyone!

Haven’s First Drum Performance

Haven has taken drum lessons for about a year now. When I signed him up for lessons I didn’t think he would stay interested this long but I am VERY VERY glad he continues to play because he is SOOOOOOO good!

Haven had his first drum performance today with 10 other students that take lessons from Haven’s teacher (Danny). We saw all levels of talent and a wide range in the ages of the students from 6 - 40 years old. Haven rocked the house! He played Black Dog written by Led Zeppelin. If you have ever listened to this song in detail, you will notice how hard the drum part is. The drums don’t go along with the rhythm of the guitar and the breaks between the choruses aren’t evenly timed so the drums are played in all these crazy ways. Haven played the song flawlessly. He did an awesome job!! Great job Haven!!! Keep up the good work and we’ll keep paying for lessons!

6th Grade Photos

Hot off the press! Isn't he a handsome boy! Love you Haven!

Look who we ran into...

Eat your heart out Erich Ficker!!

21 years later........

Katie's dad, Boyd, bought a radio control airplane in 1987 (I know this from a receipt). He spent time building, covering, installing, tuning, and...never flew it. Katie remembers him working a lot on it while Andy helped to get it ready for flight. I have been flying for about ten years now, and I know how to fly pretty well. Finally, after eight years, I got up the courage to ask Boyd if could buy the plane from him. I don't know the whole reason for him not flying this beautifully crafted plane, but 21 years later it finally came off the ground. I was shaking a little bit when it first took it off but after trimming it out so it would fly straight and level, it flew flawlessly. Here are a few pictures of the dusty airplane.