The Breinholt Family

The videos

2009-11-13T11:21:00.001-08:00

Hope was a monkey in her former life

2009-11-13T10:53:00.000-08:00

Hope's birthday was very fun. She went to boondocks with a few friends and family. She got lots of fun presents from our thoughtful friends and family. So, I decided to post this video of Luke playing with some of Hope's make up. I kept telling him, "Boys, don't wear lipstick, Luke" and he would say, "Boys do." It was hilarious. Hope and I were cracking up. Hope then proceeded to hang upside down on the counter ledge. It was an entertaining night to say the least.

Halloween Continued

2009-11-06T10:05:00.000-08:00

Our poor little Luke had stomach flu Halloween morning. Poor little guy. We did get a few pictures. By the afternoon he wasn't throwing up and he was eating so he did get to go to grandmas and grandpas. I stayed home most of the night as I was still recovering from pneumonia while Berny took the kids up our street and then we just chilled. Hope of course, loved every minute of it.

Grandpa Coy's halloween party and Witch hayride at Gardner Village

2009-10-30T12:34:00.000-07:00

Hope's Halloween Parade

2009-10-30T12:00:00.000-07:00

Luckily, Bern recorded Hope's halloween parade because I have walking pneumonia and opted not to go. She is such a cutie. She chose her own costume this year.Of course, I wasn't there to fix her hat before sooo..ya. Dad's don't notice these things. You can't see but I braided Hope's hair in these cute braids with super cute hallooween bows. I love our little not so shy Candy Corn Witch. More halloween pictures to come.

Kids pictures!

2009-10-14T12:16:00.000-07:00

So, we finally took a family picture. We haven't since Luke was born (other than ones we took ourselves). Amy Riley did them and she did an awesome job as usual. You can check them out on her photography blog posted in my links. If you go to her gallery button, you can see all of the pics by clicking under Berny and Nikki. Also, on a good note, I am trying some Migraine medicine that is giving me tons of energy and might be helping with my dizziness. I feel better but I was starting to feel better before I started taking the medicine so I am not sure..we will see. Here's to feeling good though!

Hope

2009-09-22T21:27:00.000-07:00

So, I have been feeling discouraged and frustrated lately about my "problem", my symptoms have been not great lately. Yesterday, I went to work and found out that my friend's husband Paul got his new heart. It was the best news in the world! He is such an inspiring person and the news truly lifted my spirits and gave me hope. I am so happy for their family and can't imagine the suffering they have gone through while they waited for this heart. I just wanted to post this in case some of you know this family and had not heard the good news yet. I was a little late finding out myself. What an amazing journey!

Oh so sick of this!

2009-07-31T15:16:00.000-07:00

So, I am still dealing with my balance problem although on a much smaller and more mild scale but don't you think it has been long enough already. At one point it went away about 2 months ago and I went to PT(for my last visit) and it came back. I have lost a lot of faith in doctors after many scans, specialists, and etc. and have not pursued more tests or exams because noone knows what is wrong with me and for the most part my symptoms are generally so mild that I can function pretty well but not optimally. I want to be more active ie go for a bike ride etc etc not just be able to function but at least I can function well. So I am considering seeing a new doc and giving him/her all my test results and just venting my frustration that even though my symptoms are mild, I want them to go away. Anyway, just needed to vent a little. My neck and back of my head are hurting today and I'm grumpy. Sorry everyone.

Hopscotch Camis GIVEAWAY!!!!

2009-06-20T21:51:00.000-07:00

Hopscotch Camis GIVEAWAY!!!!

More about Luke!

2009-06-15T22:38:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I really just wanted to take a minute to brag about our little man! He is so smart! Really! He talks in full sentences and mostly understands everything. He amazes me all the time. He is such a good kid. Mostly mellow unless he's tired. Sounds like me. Haha. He is so sweet. He is always giving hugs and kisses and he loves his big sister! He wants to do everything that she does. He is such a boy! He loves robots, trucks, choo choo trains, basketballs, Buzz Lightyear, Ironman, Spiderman, and all the other action figures. We love him so much and I am a bit of a pushover when it comes to Luke. I still sing to him and rock him to sleep. How can I resist when he says, "Mommy, I want you." The funny part about that is now he is old enough that I can bargain with him and say, "Do you want mommy to sing to you or do you want to go in your bed" if he starts to fight me and he nods his little head yes. He is the cutest thing! We really have great kids! I couldn't be happier or feel more blessed. I love this picture of him. Amy Riley took it earlier around Easter time but it is so him.(Check out her blog. She is amazing and very detail oriented.)

Luke is 2 !

2009-06-15T22:16:00.000-07:00

Well this weekend was a little crazy to say the least..I'll back up.. Thursday was Hope's dance recital and she was adorable doing her ballet dance to "The Candyman". Friday I worked and Saturday Hope was supposed to perform at Saratoga Splash.The following picture is minutes before she was supposed to dance and then came the rain..Really monsoon would be more appropriate. I felt so bad! The kids didn't get to do anything they wanted pony rides, slides, etc. So, instead we went shopping for Luke's birthday present. Okay, driving in a monsoon..not the smartest especially given our track record for accidents right now(Bern totaled his truck on Friday) but we were in search for a Buzz Lightyear.We even saw lightning strike a building and saw a little smoke rise. Then, 2 hours later..sunshine. What the heck is up with this weather! Sunday, we had both sides of the family and the Warrens over for Luke's birthday which we were planning on a bbq outside but of course rain. So picture 24 people in my house, guitar hero, face paint, dinner, and cake and ice cream. A little crazy to say the least! Luke had a good time though. He loved all of his gifts..everyone was so thoughtful, they were perfect for him. Luke kept saying,"Lukey spiderman robot". Cute but a little confused. Mom and Aunt Lara made him a spiderman cake and cupcakes. Thanks guys! It was so cute. Also, the kids got to get their faces painted. It turned out really good just really loud for a while..Oh and my sisters and Aunt minus Linds and me had their faces painted like KISS. Anyway, Love you all..more pics and video of Hope's dance recital as soon as Bern downloads them for me off the internal memory..for now enjoy Luke's birthday.

The Brass Hussy GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!

2009-05-13T00:33:00.000-07:00

The Brass Hussy GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!

One more so you can see the top

2009-05-05T11:03:00.000-07:00

For those of you waiting to see Hope's Duvet finished

2009-05-05T10:59:00.001-07:00

She loves her duvet that Des helped me make. I must say it turned out way cute! The best part is the shams we made are so cute ..Hope is so funny she uses them as sleeping bags for her stuffed animals..I will get a better pic when we get everything done but here is the duvet and of course Hope hamming it up.

A few more pictures from Mom's house

2009-05-05T10:50:00.001-07:00

Easter!

2009-05-05T10:33:00.000-07:00

Finally, some pictures of easter. My kids had so much fun. Easter egg hunts, barbeque, and hanging out with the fam. Curt made some stuffed hamburgers and man were they huge!. I just had a bite of Bern's but they were mmm..mmm good. Grandpa's weenie roast was fun, a family tradition. And finally, a water fight at my mom's with squirt guns she bought for the kids. Bern and Em took it a little too far..bucket of water.

Art Nest Pincushion RingGIVEAWAY!!!!

2009-04-30T23:31:00.000-07:00

Art Nest Pincushion RingGIVEAWAY!!!!

Okay, A few more

2009-04-01T11:03:00.001-07:00

Finally...some of the new pics...for those of you not addicted to facebook

2009-03-31T23:34:00.000-07:00

So I have the disk of the pictures Amy took of our two little kiddos. Here are some of my favorites

Paul Cardall Benefit Concert

2009-03-16T11:34:00.000-07:00

Paul's wife is one of my friends from work. I cannot even say how much a wonderful, sweet person she is. Paul is an inspiring musician. They have a daughter Eden who is 3. Please join us in attending this benefit concert and help us show support for their family while they are waiting for a heart for Paul.

Born 2 Impress GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!

2009-03-12T15:46:00.000-07:00

Born 2 Impress GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!

Sunday Laundry Shirt Dress GIVEAWAY!!!!

2009-03-12T15:37:00.000-07:00

Sunday Laundry Shirt Dress GIVEAWAY!!!!

Cinnamon Sticks GUEST GROSGRAIN GIVEAWAY!!!!

2009-03-12T15:35:00.000-07:00

Cinnamon Sticks GUEST GROSGRAIN GIVEAWAY!!!!

My kiddos pictures.

2009-03-06T10:20:00.000-08:00

I just had to share this because I think my friend Amy is amazing and super talented. She took my kids pictures last week and did an amazing job. They were not cooperative at all..yet somehow she managed to get the pictures I was hoping to get. Can I just say, I LOVE THEM!! Love you Amy, Thanks again. To view the pictures ( I don't have them yet) Go to the Amy Zabrina Photography link on my fav sites. She put in a few sneak peaks. They're amazing.

My Sewing Project

2009-02-24T23:13:00.000-08:00

I am making a duvet for Hope's new bed. Our princess moved into her big bed and we are trying to get her set up in it. I decided I wanted to learn how to sew and make a duvet for her bed so my Aunt Desi is helping me do most of it all by myself. It is taking a while but it will be so cute when it is finished. It has turned into to quite the project but I dare say it will be as good as Pottery Barn although I don't think I saved much $ doing it. Well, here's to learning a new skill anyway. Oh, and the picture is kind of yellow because it was taken on Bern's iphone and it doesn't have a flash but you kind of get the idea of what I am attempting to do. It should be done by next week. We've been trying to get together once a week to work on it. Des is nice enough to let me use her machine but I think I like this. It's pretty fun. I'll have to be buying me one.

V Day!

2009-02-24T23:05:00.001-08:00

Okay, so this post is really late but my life has been really crazy lately. Anyway, our Valentines Day was fun. Well, I better back up a bit. The day before VDay Hope woke me up and said Daddy has flowers for you. Apparently Bern had bought me roses and hid them downstairs to give to me the next day. He told Hope not to tell me but she was so excited she couldn't help it. Bern went to work and that night when he got home I made the suggestion of making breakfast for dinner (Pancakes, etc..) Come to find out he had stopped at the store on the way home and bought srawberry syrup and whip cream, bacon,and eggs so he could make us a V day breakfast in the morning. So poor Berny couldn't win. All of his surprises were ruined this year. Oh well it's the thought that counts and It was still yummy just a day early. Valentines Day we took the kids to see Hotel for Dogs and went to Rocky Mountain Pizza. It was a good day.

25 Random Things About Me

2009-02-07T21:12:00.000-08:00

1. I love the TV show Lost. I never miss it. If I do we TVO it.
2. I like to scrapbook and have many supplies but hardly ever do it. (Who has time?)
3. I am learning to sew. (Hope's Duvet for her bed, probably a little ambitious for my first sewing project.)
4. I was a concert pianist. I even won a few trophies from BYU but now I haven't played for so long I can usually only pick out a melody at first glance.
5. I love to snorkel. Really love it! We have snorkeled in Hawaii, Mexico, and Grand Cayman.
6. I have four sisters.
7. I have OCD but not the good tidy kind, the germ freak kind.
8. I love to read. Mostly fiction. I get enough of real life.
9. I occasionally play Guitar Hero World Tour with my husband.
10. I am a Registered Nurse in the NICU at IMC.
11. I have an addiction for kids clothing. My kids have more clothes than their drawers will fit and I hate putting them away when they grow out of them.
12. I like to fold clothes. It's therapeutic for me and relaxing.
13. I love river rafting and four wheeling.
14. On Saturday mornings, if I am not at work, you can usually find us singing and dancing in our family room while we are attempting to clean.
15. I like Law & Order and Burn Notice.
16. I once was a photographer at Kiddie Kandids.
17. My favorite color is blue.
18. I chose my kids names Hope and Luke partially because they would be really hard to misspell and easy to pronounce. I have seen some weird ones.
19. My favorite dessert is cheesecake and also my 4 year old's fav. If we're sharing she'll eat more than me.
20. My fav food is my mom's Penne Rustica. So yummy!
21. I tear up whenever I hear "Let them be little" especially if I am on my way to work or any other million father daughter songs. I love my dad. He's an amazing compassionate person.
22. I would rather have 10 good friends than 50 aquaintances.
23. I like living in Utah. I love the different seasons. I just wish winter wasn't so long but I can't imagine Christmas without snow.
24. I have family in Pennsylvania. Go Steelers!
25. My kids and my husband are the loves of my life. I don't know what I'd do without them.

An update!

2009-02-04T19:10:00.001-08:00

I am starting to feel a lot better. We'll see if it's just coincidence or I keep feeling better with the physical therapy. I hope so. On the upside, My kids are the cutest darn things I have ever seen! At least this is the only thing in my life that is kind of a bummer. Everything else is great. I have a great job, good friends, and a great husband! Plus the fact that he is hot doesn't hurt. LOL. Also, I have a wonderful family to support me and help when I need them to.

Maybe a little early to judge

2009-01-28T21:33:00.000-08:00

A little better today, maybe I prejudged the physical therapy. We'll give it a few weeks.

Physical Therapy Sucks!

2009-01-27T18:04:00.000-08:00

Okay, it's been a while. So, here is an update. I was doing really well for almost 2 months with my balance problem not gone but almost right? Well, 2 weeks ago I got a sinus infection and my symptoms are pretty bad again. I can function even at work but it is really uncomfortable. It's not like room spinning just off balance + headaches+ now my eyes are having problems focusing sometimes. So, I am jumping through the last hoops that I know of. I did a sleep/apnea test, tried migraine medicine ( had to quit it before we could see it could work because of the side effects), and now I am trying physical therapy. Mostly, he stretches and massages my neck. He seems to think that I have a pinched vertebral artery. I have only been twice but so far I feel worse as far as balance goes not better when I leave. My neck does feel better for a few hours so I'll give it some time and see but I think the next and probably final step is surgery on my ear. WHATEVER! I don't care. I just want this to be done with and it's been really hard to have this relapse in symptoms when I thought I was getting over it. Okay, now I am done whining.

More New Years pictures

2009-01-12T21:49:00.001-08:00

Rock and Roll New Years Eve!

2009-01-12T21:32:00.000-08:00

Anyone who knows me knows that I don't play video games. Period. Bern does and I am fine with that as long as he doesn't wake me up and he gets up in the morning. However, on New Years Eve we decided to invite some friends and family over for a Rockband / Texas Hold'em party. We had a blast! I only sang once because I was busy playing hostess and snapping some pictures but we had fun.Des, I did were my hostess apron. Em brought Rockband I for the 360 and we seriously played for two hours and probably would have kept playing except some of us wanted to play Texas hold'em before midnight. Anyway, needless to say we did go and buy Guitar Hero World Tour which is pretty much the same as Rockband. I am getting pretty good at the drums. I can only play the guitar on beginner. LOL... and I sing pretty well so I think I do okay there. I hope everyone had fun. There was lots of yummy food (potluck) and the kids loved banging pots and pans at midnight and doing poppers. Best wishes to everyone for a happy and healthy New Year!

Santa came!

2009-01-02T20:51:00.000-08:00

We had a much more relaxing Chrismas this year than normal. We decided to split the holiday between our families instead of seeing both families on both Christmas eve and Christmas Day. It was so nice. Christmas Eve we went to my mom's house for a yummy dinner of croissant sandwiches, orderves?? (pretty sure I spelled that wrong) and my mom's famous sugar cookies and fudge. To this day, we still are not allowed to make the cookies only frost them. She says we can practice at our own house and we play with the dough too much. Trust me, we have all tried to make her cookies. They never turn out right. So, this year I took careful notes and helped frost them. We took family pictures and watched the nativity dvd. Luckily, my husband had already wrapped almost all of the presents that day while the kids and I were out finishing up some last minute stuff. Our kids fortunately are little enough that they don't wake up too early so we slept til 9. Hope was pretty hard to get to bed that night. She was so excited..she heard the jingle bells from Santa's sleigh. Hope only asked for one thing this year so santa made sure she got it ( a sleeping beauty doll that sings) and she also got some books and leap pad tag reader and a ballerina barbie in her stockng. Luke got lots of trucks, cars, and and ironman toy. He loved pushing all the buttons on all the toys. Mom and Dad mostly got a few clothes and a few small things. So, Christmas day it snowed another foot. Bern started digging us out early so that we could go to his mom and dad's for dinner. It was nice to spend the morning at home and we didn't leave to go there until 3. We had a really nice dinner of ham,yummy potatoes,rolls,and salad. We stayed there for a few hours visiting and then went to my grandpa's to visit and open gifts from him for and hour.
We were home by 9 and the kids were in bed. It was a great holiday!

A few more pics! What can I say, I love to take pics

2008-12-13T23:45:00.000-08:00

Diane's sexy butt picture is for you Jeff. Really, the funny story about that is that Hope took her clip out and put it in Diane's back pocket and Diane didn't even know it. Then, we decided to take that picture for fun. Berny's modeling picture was taken by Diane. We love to take silly pictures.. What can I say?

Finally got our christmas tree up!

2008-12-13T23:36:00.000-08:00

Hope was so excited about putting the tree up this year. We've been a little slow at getting it up because I have been working more. It was funny. The other night we were at our friends' the Olsens' and Hope said the prayer for dinner and asked Heavenly Father to help us get our lights on our Christmas tree. So, last night we got everything done. We've been doing it in stages. Hope pulled two of these hard metal chairs together and laid down on them and said she was going to sleep by the Christmas tree. It was so cute.

Christmas Card Pictures!

2008-12-13T23:26:00.000-08:00

We ventured out with Jeff and Diane to take budget pics for our Christmas Cards. As you can see, my kids were not all that cooperative, although we did manage to get a few cute ones. Ask me if I have sent them out yet? NO, although I did manage to get down to smiths to print some pics. Hopefully, I'll get them sent out Monday. I love the ones I got of Jeff and Diane. They're so photogenic?? Sorry I didn't get them emailed to you. I will send them anyhow. Oh well, we've had a busy week and somehow I have managed to get laryngitis again this year.

Dinner Party Frock GIVEAWAY!!!!

2008-12-05T16:52:00.000-08:00

Dinner Party Frock GIVEAWAY!!!!

Poor Luke!

2008-12-03T21:12:00.005-08:00

Like I said, Luke was pretty tired by the end of the day. Although, He did enjoy the candy cane he got from Santa.

Hope's Dance Recital at the Festival of Trees

2008-12-03T20:45:00.000-08:00

Today we went to the Festival of Trees to see Hope perform. It was so fun. She did very well. I only recorded part of the dance because at first I wasn't sure where she was in the line. She was so cute even though I think we got jipped on her costume this time. Afterwards, we walked around and looked at the trees, took a picture with Santa, and visited the kids corner where she was able to paint an ornament, be in a giant bubble, and get her face painted. It was a fun day for her but I think poor little Luke was so tired. He didn't get much of a nap.

Scribble It GIVEAWAY!!!!

2008-12-03T20:42:00.000-08:00

Scribble It GIVEAWAY!!!!

Downtown Holiday Jacket and Pant GIVEAWAY!!!!

2008-11-26T23:11:00.000-08:00

Downtown Holiday Jacket and Pant GIVEAWAY!!!!

The Link to darling clothes!!

2008-11-26T22:53:00.000-08:00

I don't know why the link didn't show up on my post so I will just type it out. Really this is so fun. Check it out. www.kandykissesboutique.typepad.com

Darling custom clothes!

2008-11-26T22:44:00.000-08:00

A friend of mine always has the cutest custom clothes for her girls. She had this on her blog and it is so fun. Visit the site! They are doing a give away on black Friday starting at 7 a.m. A fun prize every hour. I would love to win for Hopie!! For some reason I am challenged and cannot post the advertising pic I wanted but really such cute stuff!!

Bloody ice cream!?

2008-11-26T21:03:00.000-08:00

So, today I had a Dr. appointment with my ENT to make a plan of attack on my balance problem. I will let you know if anything helps. He had some ideas I hadn't thought about. Anyway, Bern stayed home for a few hours in the morning and worked from his computer and then went to lunch with us at Artic Circle before he had to go visit customers and deliver some product. Hope was so funny! Bern had to take a phone call and went outside to talk. Hope came over to the table and the following conversation was this:

Hope: Where's Bern?

Me: Daddy is talking to somebody on the phone outside for work.

Hope: And then he's going to come in and eat lunch and play?

Me: Daddy is finished with his lunch. He'll come in for a minute but then he has to go work.

Hope: Poor Berny.

Also, while Berny was outside she asked me if she could have ice cream and I told her she could after she finished her lunch. She said, " Nilla with blood on it." She wanted a vanilla cherry topper. Sometimes she says the cutest funniest things. Well, I hope you all have a great Thanksgiving tomorrow!!

Twilight !!!

2008-11-21T22:07:00.000-08:00

My sister in law Diane and I went with all the crazy women to see Twilight last night at midnight. It was so fun! We even had our picture taken with these models that the movie theatre had hired at Thanksgiving Point who, by the way, were supposed to look like Edward and Jacob. Not so much, but it was fun anyway. They were raffling off t shirts and other twilight items. So, Diane and I thought we would be watching this with a bunch of 12 year olds...To our surprise, most of the fans were grown women and only a handful of high school girls. There were a bunch of prego girls who had t shirts on that said Edward's Baby( I thought that was pretty clever :). One of the funniest parts of the night was when the gawky 16 year old boy employed by the movie theatre came to make an announcement prior to the movie starting. I don't think he probably ever had a room full of women screaming for him. So, the movie was definitely fun but probably could have been made a little better. There were a few character flaws that I thought were kind of funny, like Charlie, Bella's dad, was way too young to play that part. Also, when they run up the mountain, it's hilarious. Diane and I were cracking up. The villians were very well done. I guess it's hard when you have a certain idea of how the characters are supposed to look and they are a little different than what you expect but overall I think the movie was great and would see it again. Thank you to my KK friend Kacy who got us tickets! You're awesome.

Birthday Cont.

2008-11-16T20:04:00.001-08:00

Hope's Birthday and Uncle Rick

2008-11-16T19:35:00.000-08:00

This year Hope was spoiled as usual. She turned 4 and I can't believe that tiny little thing I brought home from the hospital on my birthday is a 4 year old sassy little girl. We are so lucky to have her. She is the funniest cute girl and says the sweetest things. She is always telling her dad and I that we are her best friends. While she still has challenges with sharing sometimes, She is the sweetest little girl and loves her family and friends to death. She is really good at interpretive dancing.. and loves her ballet class. This year we bailed on having her party at our house and decided to meet at godfather's pizza. It was a real treat this year because some of my family was here from Pennsylvania. The following are some pictures of her birthday.

So Sick of this!

2008-11-15T22:36:00.000-08:00

I hate that this balance thing has become a big focus of my life so unless I have an epiphany or it disappears I will not be writing about it anymore. I know, WHEW! It's just having plans to get stuff done and then not being able to accomplish it all or having a constant ringing sound in my ear is a constant reminder even when I try to ignore it. Anyway, I have said my piece. Please stay tuned for cute new pics of Hopie's birthday as soon as I retrieve them from my parent's computer.

Balance disorder update...

2008-11-09T21:42:00.000-08:00

Notice I am not calling it vertigo. This is because rarely are my symptoms an actual spinning vertigo. It is more like a state of constant imbalance that sometimes is better and sometimes worse. So, You all are probably going to laugh but I was googling mal de debarquement because it is one of the diagnoses my ENT is considering. I found this MdDS support group on yahoo chat forums. I am telling you these people are so amazing. Most of them have had this syndrome for months to years and have done a lot of research. I basically told my story and by the next day had five responses. I am not sure if I have MdDs because my problem seems to be more when I am in motion not when I am still. However, this group of people are fairly well educated about different type of vestibular disorders(affects balance). One of them referred me to this Dr. Hain's website. He is a MD in Chicago that does a lot of work with balance and hearing disorders> So now there is a fourth diagnosis I want to talk to my ENT about called a perilymph fistula. Basically, it's a hole between your middle ear and inner ear and can be caused by barotrauma and has been found to occur in people on the descent of a flight. Sometimes the hole closes on its own but it accounts for most of my symptoms and if it doesn't close sometimes they can patch it in surgery or tubes help to equalize the pressure. I am sure this is what you all wanted to read today but I am so excited to have found some possible answers. Sorry if it is pretty technical but I really didn't know how to explain it better. Berny says I use medical terms too much and makes fun of me but oh well. That's who I am.

Election Day Continued

2008-11-04T20:47:00.000-08:00

As the vote rolls in and it looks like Obama has won the election, I am a little defeated and disappointed in the American public. While I wish that I could celebrate with the rest of the country the true achievement of having an African American president(Mixed African - American, White), I am really worried about where his economic policies and tax increases will take us. I wish that race hadn't played such a huge roll in this election and people looked more at the candidates record and policies. That being said, I hope that he recieves some true inspiration in guiding this country because he is our president for the time being.

Election Day!

2008-11-03T23:19:00.000-08:00

I am a little... a lot worried about the turnout of this election. I just wrote a huge comment on this blog of someone I don't even know because I felt she was a little mislead although I respect her opinion. But I've got to tell you, If Obama wins this election there will be some crazy changes to the fundamental principles of this country. I really am worried about whether or not the new president will uphold the constitution and our rights as citizens. Socialistic/communism is not the answer!! On a somewhat lighter note, my balance tesing came back mostly normal except for one test but they don't know what it means and it doesn't help that on the day of the testing I was feeling pretty good because my ear popped the night before. Today has been a pretty off balance day but oh well what can you do. My ENT is not entirely sure what is going on. There are a few diagnoses that we are looking at. A prevalant one is mal de debarquement and it can last from months to years. Sometimes physical therapy helps so I am going to try that. Also, he is going to have St. Mark's (at my request) review my MRI to make sure there is no acoustic neuroma which is a benign tumor on your eighth cranial nerve which can affect your balance and hearing. The third diagnosis we are looking at is otosclerosis in my right ear. The theory is as the bones fuse in my ear, I gradually will have hearing loss and the toxins released when they fuse can make you dizzy. The only problem is I am not a candidate for surgery for that until my hearing becomes a lot worse. Right now, there is a small problem with the hearing in my right ear but that can also be from scarring( ear infections as a child). So, Crazy life but at least we're working towards a goal. Oh and I don't know if I said before but my heart is fine:normal echo, normal ECG monitoring. Anyway, Life still has to go on and heaven knows it will. Love you all.

Halloween Fun!

2008-11-01T19:09:00.000-07:00

This year we decided to hit the grandparents early and to spend the rest of the evening in our neighborhood. Sorry to all of the fam we didn't visit on halloween but usually our holidays are spent running from one house to another and we decided we're going to start doing things a little different so it isn't so stressful for us. I have to say, I think our costumes turned out really cute. Hope was the cutest Tink even though she whined about her bun hurting her head. That only lasted until we started trick or treating and then she started having a lot of fun. Luke was a perfect little Peter Pan and Bern was awesome as Captain Hook. I, of course, was Wendy. Grandma Breinholt was a witch and Grandma Wardle was a snow princess. We carved pumpkins the night before. Berny is way better at it than I am so he carved the kids' pumpkins. We also got to spend time with our friends and neighbors for dinner and games. So yummy! Amanda, I would like your Cafe Rio Pork recipe. I got pretty dizzy towards the end of the night and Luke was getting onery so we came home a little earlier. Bern and Hope stayed and played. We really had a lot of fun!

Twilight Movie!

2008-10-25T23:34:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I was browsing my friends' blogs and Melissa Vera had a link to GotTwilight which had a link to Twilighters anonymous. I took the quiz and apparently I am a Bella. I am soo excited about this movie! I didn't think I was until I started browsing the literature and pics on these blogs and it looks so good. How much fun is this going to be? I can't wait.

Needing to vent a little...

2008-10-23T20:44:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I know everyone is prob sick of hearing about this but my vertigo problem is still not resolved. It was getting better so it wasn't bothering me as much. Only dizzy now and then but the last three days it has been pretty bad again and pretty much all the time. I have had a full work up a few months ago: MRI, balance testing,antibiotics, etc. I've been to two different ENT's and am now getting my heart checked out by a cardiologist to make sure that my heart isn't causing it. It's completely depressing. Nobody can really tell me what is going on. I was hoping that it was gradually going away but the last few days it got worse again. I try not to think about it and stay busy with my kids because when I dwell on it all the worst things go through my mind. My ENT wants me to have some more balance testing done so I am going to do that but he also said that we may have not seen anything on the MRI because it was too small. So, if my balance testing comes back normal then I'll probably push for a repeat of the MRI brain and neck this time. Sorry if this is kind of a downer, I'm just having a bad day.

Test time blog

2008-10-14T00:02:00.001-07:00

Busy snowy weekend in Utah

2008-10-12T20:35:00.000-07:00

This weekend we saw the first flurries of winter. I'm sure it will warm up again and we won't see real snow til December but it was crazy because last week we were still in shorts in the 80's. I was on call this weekend at the hospital. Friday, I was called in four 4 hours and then met up with the fam for dinner at Italian Village for Mom and Jessi's birthday. So yummy! Saturday, we ran the normal errands but had to kind of stay home and keep it low key because I was on call that night. Bern, Hope, and I built a Halloween gingerbread house from a kit that I bought at Smiths. Luke was more interested in eating the candy. Hope thinks she made a halloween birthday cake for grandma and Aunt Jess. Sunday, we went to church and that night we went to Grandpa Coy's birthday party at his house. The mom's (Mom, Desi, Kerri, and Eileen) made soups and Bern made his famous breadsticks. The cousins made desserts and muffins. Em made a dessert and breadsticks. As usual, the Wardle Fam puts on quite a feast. It was delicious.

Luke's Owee!

2008-10-12T20:16:00.000-07:00

So, Hope and Luke were playing in her room. I heard a big crash and Luke started screaming. I ran back to see what happened where I promptly spanked Hope as she proceeded to tell me that she pushed look down because he was kicking her. First, Luke can't kick standing up. He doesn't have that kind of balance yet so I don't know what really happened and second, she pushed him down earlier that day too. Anyway, we took him to Timpview Regional to have it xrayed because he wouldn't bear weight on it very well. They told me it was sprained and we went home. Hope and I went out of town for the weekend and by then he was walking with a little limp. When I got back on Sunday he seemed to be walking almost normal. Bern told me the ER DR called and I thought he was just following up. By Wed. he was still limping so I called the ER Doc back and he told me that the radiologist thought there was a hairline buckle fracture of the tibia. They wanted me to bring him back to re xray it. I decided to take him to his pediatrician to have it examined. They xrayed it and said there was a fracture of the fibula and it was not hairline. Also, you can't have a buckle fracture of the tibia( I hate that we don't have IHC insurance). They casted it and now he has to have it on for 3 weeks. So, today we autographed his cast. See if you can see what I wrote for Hope. She scribbled next to it.

Fall Leaves

2008-09-29T22:54:00.000-07:00

Sunday afternoon we took the kids up American Fork Canyon. We had a lot of fun hiking around the picnic area and up a small trail. The leaves were beautiful and I just kept thinking, why don't we come up here more often? Seriously! I don't need to wait around until Bern wants to go up. I could just bring the kids up on my own but wait Luke is walking/running now. Oh yeah. Two kids on my own next to a river could get a little tricky especially since Hope is extremely adventurous. Oh well! It was a beautiful afternoon. Here are some pics of our cute fam.

Ryan Shupe Cont.

2008-09-29T22:46:00.000-07:00

Ryan Schupe and The Rubberband!

2008-09-29T22:29:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, we went to Thanksgiving Point Waterfall Garden Ampitheatre to see Ryan Schupe and The Rubberband ( I might be spelling that wrong). Jeff and Diane were good enough to come with us and we took Hope. I didn't think Luke would make it through the concert so Lindsey, Trev, and Mom arranged to watch him for us. We had a lot of fun and we were glad we could spend some time with Jeff and Diane. The Gardens at Thanksgiving Point are beautiful. Also, we ran into some friends of my dad, the Bells and the Vandykes. Hope didn't want to leave( we left a few minutes early). She said the show wasn't over. Check out her dancing video. Funny!

The economy.. what a nightmare!

2008-09-27T22:17:00.000-07:00

With more banks closing their doors and businesses going under things are looking pretty grim. No wonder the LDS church leaders have been telling us for years(and by years I mean decades)to get out of debt and have a food storage. Now, we are by no means debt free but we are working on it and the last year or so have started building a food storage with things I know my kids will eat(because let's be honest, what is the point in storing foods that you can't rotate through). Still, the news is a daily grim reminder of how bad things are getting and groceries are more expensive than they have been in a long time. My sis in law Diane posted an interesting idea on her blog. WHO will be our next president? I truly don't know who I will vote for but hope to get people talking about it because I do think that it is important to vote. In my eyes, John McCain is a war hero and at least has similar views in foreign policy and more experience than other candidates but is too soft when it comes to sealing our borders and drilling for oil. He is not a true conservative or capitalist. Still, Obama scares the crap out of me. He is a very persuasive speaker and is a very intelligent man but it is what he insinuates that resembles socialism, talking about mandatory volunteer service in our schools and community responsibility. Don't get me wrong, I am all for volunteering in the community but I think that people should do it because they want to not because they have to. What ever happened to personal responsibility and freedom and independence? I am not obviously for big government. I really wish the Mitt Romney had been elected as the GOP candidate purely for his experience in economics because let's face it, our economy sucks! I will probably vote McCain, lesser of two evils.

Money Saver! Thanks Diane!

2008-09-10T12:32:00.000-07:00

I am reposting this so all of you can enjoy the savings. My sis in law Diane clued me into this website. If you order from retailers online this could save you money. The website is retailmenot.com. All you do is type in the store's website in the search bar and it will give you different coupon codes that you can use online. Some have printable coupons. I saved $10 on my Children's Place order for my kids' fall clothes. I looked at a couple of others: Gymboree has coupons also. I know Diane bought some clothes for her husband and saved some money. Also, an anecdote. I have been having a hard time getting Hope to want to say her prayers at night before we get into bed. So, last night I'm explaining why we pray and that we love Jesus and Heavenly Father and we need to say thank you for the things we have. etc,etc. Hope says," I want to invite Jesus to my Ariel birthday." How cute is that? How do you answer that? So I say, "OK. Tomorrow night when we say prayers, you can ask him but he might not be able to come."

Bern's Personality test! Totally him.

2008-08-28T21:56:00.000-07:00

Berny+B took the free ColorQuiz.com personality test!

"Wants interesting and exciting things to happen. A..."

Click here to read the rest of the results.

Doesn't every mother feel like this? Or am I really this big of a control freak.

2008-08-28T21:43:00.000-07:00

Nikki took the free ColorQuiz.com personality test!

"Intense, vital, and animated, taking a delight in ..."

Click here to read the rest of the results.

Spaghetti anyone?

2008-08-28T21:06:00.000-07:00

What a princess! We love her!

All Boy!

My two children are so different. I have a picky eater and a not so picky eater. Guess which one is which? Hope actually used to like spaghetti. We have a picture of her eating spaghetti like this when she was about Luke's age. Now, she won't touch it unless it has parmesan cheese all over it and even then she just picks off the top. Oh well. What can you do? Luke on the other hand, digs in with both hands. He was so messy he had to have a second bath. I Love my cute kids.

Who is in control here...Hmm I wonder

2008-08-22T21:25:00.000-07:00

So, I tried to edit my old post about Luke walking to add a video to no avail. Charise, I am right there with you. I mean, about the technologically challenged thing. This will have to do. :)

In response....and an update

2008-08-22T09:19:00.000-07:00

Okay, So the sheet set was actually only $25 and the pillow was $5 from target. It's the darn mattress and boxsprings that will be so expensive. Since it is a full size bed, it will be about $400-$500. Crazy! Bern and I really need a new mattress set also( we have had ours for 10 years) but oh well. Maybe after the 1st of the year. Also, I looked on the internet last night for bedding that might match but not too princessy. It was a failure. I would appreciate any suggestions. Also,I am on my second round of antibiotics for my vertigo. It seemed to get better a little with the first round, so the doc called in another z-pack. If it's not better by the end of this course, I have to see a neurologist. Fun, huh? Oh well, at least it's better.

Kids are expensive!

2008-08-21T21:48:00.000-07:00

I bought Hope a new pillow tonight. She was so excited! She still sleeps in her toddler bed (her crib is one of those that converts.) I decided since she will be 4 in November I should buy her new bedding( her crib converts to a full bed too). Alas, I have no money right now. So, we're doing it in increments. I bought her a new pillow and full sheet set. The pillow she had before was a baby pillow. She picked out the sheet set. It has princess crowns and ballet slippers on it. I tried to talk her into something a little easier to match like polka dots but she wasn't having it. My next step will be her bed rails, then a new mattress and comforter etc. I figure it will be about $550 or $600 when it is all said and done. Ridiculous! I hope she loves her bed because she is not getting a new one until she moves out.

Luke is walking!

2008-08-21T21:41:00.000-07:00

My little man has been very tentative about taking his first steps. It might have had something to do with the fact that Hope tried to help him walk once and dropped him face down onto a chair. He had a black eye for a week. Since then, he has been shy about it. Anyway, he has taken a step or two here or there, bribed with diet coke, but never more. Last night he took 5 or 6 consecutive steps and did it again this morning. It's like he decided that walking was way more cool than crawling. I can't decide whether I should be happy or not. He is already into everything. Don't judge me. I don't really give him diet coke often (usually just an occasional sip of my drink) but he loves it. So, if I have to hold my drink out in front of him to get him to walk, so be it.

Breinholt Family Reunion

2008-08-16T22:08:00.000-07:00

Tonight, we went to Deb and Lee's, aka grandma and grandpa B, for the Breinholt family reunion. As normal at one of these functions, there was enough food to feed a small army and Deb was handing out leftovers. I was lucky enough not to bring any home ( I mean, I just don't need the extra food). We had a good time mingling with Sally and Richard's family, Milt and Colleen's kids, Nancy and Brian's Family, and David and his wife. We haven't seen most of these guys since Luke's blessing and some longer. It was good to get reacquainted. After we got everything cleaned up, Grandpa B. drove his yard tractor around the backyard with the kids in the trailer. They loved it. You would have thought they were on a ride at Lagoon with all the noise they were making. Thanks to Debbie for all her hard work and we should really get together more than once every couple of years.

Lagoon

2008-08-15T22:43:00.000-07:00

Today, we went to Lagoon. One of Bern's customers, B&D Glass, was having a work party up there. They gave us some tickets and we were able to get two extra tickets at the last minute and invited Em and her kids to go up with us. Jess, don't be mad. I knew you had to work. Hope had so much fun going on rides with her cousins, Berklee and Wyatt, and Em and I were able to trade turns watching the two babies.They actually did really well. Of course, I totally forgot my camera so the only pics I have are on Bern's cell phone. I'm going to try to retrieve them later and post them. Debbie(grandma) and Aunt Ashley met us up there later. The kids had a great time and fell asleep 15 minutes into our drive home. It was a pretty good day!

Work picnic

2008-08-15T22:37:00.000-07:00

So, yesterday we went to Murray Park and had a picnic with some people from work. Of course, I had to wait for Bern to get home from work first so we arrived late. Anyway, Hope fell asleep on the way there and was so onery when we got there. Usually she would have been running around like crazy, a normal thing for her. Luke, on the other hand, was all smiles. It's crazy how much he's grown up. He ate half of a sloppy joe. I was truly amazed because my other child wouldn't even try it. She is such a picky eater. It's amazing how different my two children are. Luke is such a little man. It was fun to see a few people that I don't see at work sometimes. We truly do have a good group of people working in the NICU.

Update on my vertigo problem

2008-08-12T19:59:00.000-07:00

Got my MRI results back today. Normal,yeah no brain tumor or aneurysm. Still don't know what is wrong with me but we are trying antibiotics. Hopefully that will work. Still, I feel lucky.

Friggin Vertigo!

2008-08-11T23:28:00.000-07:00

So, I've had this weird balance problem since we went to Cayman. It's so annoying. I've been to the doctor and they thought it was an inner ear problem. They put me on steriods for a week and that didn't work, so I went to an ENT and he couldn't see anything wrong with my ear so Friday night I had an MRI to rule out something in my head. Well, it's monday and I still don't have the results. I am pretty sure everything is fine on the MRI but I don't even know where to go from here because I feel like I can't get any answers. So, my point in writing this was not to complain( well maybe a little)but to reflect on how this has put in perspective the things that are important in my life i.e. my family, my health, my spirituality. I realized I take a lot for granted, for instance, how much I can get accomplished when I don't feel like I'm going to fall over and the cute things my kids say every day. It also makes me wonder if I tell my kids I love them enough and makes me want to try to spend more quality time with them. Now, I realize I'm probably being a little overdramatic, but that's how it is.

Wardle Family Camping Trip

2008-08-05T22:28:00.001-07:00

Katie Jo
Little Craig( I know, grown up now) and Aunt Eileen
The Lamberts
Er Bear reading her book
Luke Loved Bee Bop. WE WILL NOT SPEAK OF THE KISS!
Bern and Luke in our tent! Pack and Play was a lifesaver!
Grandpa, Dad, and Wyatt eating breakfast!
Our hillside. The flowers were really pretty. Too bad you can't see them.
Bern, Hope( yes, in the helmet) and Luke
Matt, Abbey, Mom, and Lindsey
Kacen, Kinley, and Hope. The kids ran around with these helmets on all day!

So, almost every year my family, and I mean the whole Wardle extended family, go camping. This year we went up Ephraim Canyon to Skyline Drive. It was a new adventure with two kids. Not too bad. They didn't sleep as good as they do at home but we had fun. We rode four wheelers, Berny shot his handgun, built an enormous fire, went fishing, and ate of course. The last night we were sitting around the campfire listening to my Aunts and Uncles tell stories about growing up on the farm( I'm pretty sure they exaggerate a little) and we realized how large our family has grown. Not all were able to make it and we still had 51 people there. Like I said, Huge campfire. I just wanted to tell my family how much I love them. What a great legacy Grandpa has left. Anyway, a few pictures for you all to enjoy.

4th of July!

2008-07-20T22:13:00.001-07:00

Jaxson eating an enormous otterpop and lovin it.

4th of July

2008-07-20T21:57:00.000-07:00

Berklee, Hope, and Wyattt cheasing it for the camera.

Hope bowing . She is so funny. She was blowing kisses to the princesses too.
Berny and Luke in their cool shades. It was so hot that day!

My little Man!

So, I was on call for the 4th. Suprisingly enough, I didn't get called in. We had a relaxing 4th of July. We went swimming at Lindsey and Trevor's pool and had a bbq and later that night had another bbq with Bern's mom and dad and Ashley. Then we went to see fireworks in Riverton, which, by the way are always the best. It's one of the few parks that still let you sit fairly close to where they set them off and I'm always suprised how long it is and this year was by far the best. Oh, and on the 3rd we went to Riverton's parade with the Wardle fam. That's what these pics are from.

Hope's Recital

2008-07-20T21:44:00.000-07:00

This is Hope with her teacher Amber and another little girl from her class.

This is Hope's Dance Class.

Having fun with her dad after the recital.

She's our little star!

Hi everyone! So, Hope took her first dance class this Spring and her recital was June 7th a week before Luke's birthday. She was so cute at her recital. This was the first time she got to wear makeup(for dance only). She loved it. I have to say that they did a pretty good job, although, at one point Hope forgot part of the dance and just started twirling around. It was really cute. We love our little princess!

Luke's 1st birthday

2008-07-19T12:51:00.000-07:00

We put a pool out for the kids to play in. Hope, Luke and Jax.

Luke Loves the Water!

Blowing out the birthday candles. He got frosting on his hands and wasn't very happy about it.

So, our cute little Luke turned 1 Sat. June 14th. It's so crazy to think he's getting so big. He now will tentatively stand up and let go for a few seconds and walks behind his push toy. It's so cute to see all his new achievements. He also says hi and waves now and says a few words like mama, dada or daddy, uh=oh, tickle tickle, ba ba, no no, and don't. He's such a good baby we are so blessed to have both of our wonderful kids.

Stingray Hickey

2008-07-19T12:45:00.000-07:00

So, I wanted to post a few of our pictures with the stingrays so you could see how big they were. It was probably the funnest thing we did while we were in Cayman. They're really soft. I even ended up with a hickey on my hand. Their mouths are on the bottom and apparently one of them thought I had food.

2008-07-18T00:07:00.000-07:00

So, I cannot even tell you how much I loved Grand Cayman. It was the best! This is a picture of me in the crystal clear water right outside our hotel. Bern and I went to Cayman as the locals call it for our ten year anniversary. We stayed at the Westin on Seven Mile Beach. We went cheap on the airfare so that we could splurge on the hotel. We flew red eye and had to make all sorts of crazy connections but it was well worth it. I missed the water the second we left. During our trip we went to the Queen Elizabeth II botanical gardens, Georgetown, and the Turtle Farm ( I love sea turtles) Boatswains beach. We also went with redsail sports to Stingray City ( swam with the sting rays ) and another spot out by one of the reefs to snorkel.The hotel was beautiful, the beaches were immaculate, and the people were friendly. It was heaven!

2008-07-17T23:32:00.000-07:00

We were able to see a lot while we were there. This little friend we met when we went to the Queen Elizabeth II botanical gardens. There aren't very many of these blue iguanas left so they breed them there and release them. They are all over the place at the gardens. We also saw crabs, parrots, lizards, birds, and frogs.