The most traumatizing vacation of my life

Me and the boys went to Arizona to get a crown (or 2) replaced and visit my sister and her family. Crowns are way cheaper in Arizona, check it out. Maybe because they come over the border - I don't know. (Thank you Dr. Sergio!) After getting my new teeth, visiting with our fun cousins, fabulous pedicures with my sister Lisa, the plan was to go to California. At that point, Matthew was flying into LA, and we would visit Gma and Gpa Garner and Auntie Suzy in Diamond Bar. Yes, I'll tell you about that first.

First day in Cali = we went to a Dodger's game... even though they lost :( , we got to meet the owner at the time. woot. That was a fun little memory, sorry his ownership didn't stick. Shoulda stayed married. We also got free LA Lakers hats! (I'm still a Jazz fan!) Anyway, 2nd day was LEGOLAND! Thank you so much Aunt Suzy, we had a blast! The boys loved it, I enjoyed it, Matthew endured it (I'm sure secretly he wanted to go again the next day)... and the third day was Suzy's b-day! I recall homemade apple pie, donuts and In-n-out to name a few... we played hand and foot and enjoyed each other's company and How to Train Your Dragon. Then it was time to go to visit Grandpa Rose and Carol in Arizona. Strange thing, Gpa Garner was sick so we left early, then Grandpa Rose wasn't doing well at all either. Who wants 3 kids running around when they feel like crap? And we made the decision to end our trip early.

Cool factoid - Our timing belt was installed incorrectly right before we left for our trip. The time we would've been driving home from our trip, the check engine light came on and that's when the mechanic discovered the timing belt had moved two notches out of place. A serious problem that could've cost us our engine and a HUGE mess to deal with on the road. It was a huge blessing we came home early. Everything happens for a reason!

We love you Lisa, Serg and 6 kids – thank you for sharing fun times with us at the park and at your house! We love you aunt Suzy, Grandma Velma and Grandpa Gene – we are sorry for this hard time you’re going through, we love you and appreciate you opening your home to us once again!

And for the traumatizing part. Let me just give you my facebook status:

I took the life of somebody's dog tonight. I feel awful...i hope the family can forgive me. :(

Anyone who has known me since childhood is the fact that I basically love animals more than humans. I was driving alone with the boys at night. It was only a 2-lane highway in AZ, there was no shoulder, just bushes about 1 feet to the side of the road. I did see an animal ahead and I started to slow down, but I thought it was a rabbit and would hop out. It wasn't worth swirving or slamming on my breaks... but as I got closer, I realized it was somebody's pet dog. He was just slowly turning in a circle, oblivious to the fact I was there. I moved to the side as much as I was comfortable, I was hoping he would finish his stupid twirl and go to the right, instead he turned right into me. At that point, I was at 45 mph and I knew he couldn't have survived. It wouldn't make sense that a family pet would be out in the middle of nowhere on a highway... until I saw a sign for RVs. :( There was no public lighting or anything, I keep running this through my mind. It haunts me, I feel awful. I am truly sorry for the couple/family that it has affected.

Matthew turns 10950 days old & BIG NEWS

As always, I feel like I have so much to share and nothing at all! Where to start?! Okay I gotta break this into more blog entries instead of a novel.

My hubby has his first app on the market - if you have an iphone or ipad, look up Feed me it! Matthew finished that app and put it up on the market for free. I'm happy for him. It's a quirky little app that's just for fun - you create your own little monster, dress him up and then put him places (friend's facebook pages, etc) with a little statement, "you rock!" "Where's my 2 dollars?" (I made those up) He's enjoying his job, he's working hard and I'm super proud of him for venturing out into the unknown with this position and progressing the way he is!

Matthew turned 30!!! I feel so bad, it looks like I didn't post in March - so yep - he's OOOOOLD! No, he's not old - 30 isn't what it used to be. A person doesn't need to be worried how old they are until they're, well, not living any more. At that point, I don't think you'll care. Anywho, with our life being as filled as it is, we don't get to stop and reflect. Matthew, I haven't known you your whole life, but the 8 years you've shared with me have been amazing. I have seen you grow into the man I've always needed. See how I said needed, not wanted? lol Happy 30th birthday - I love you!

BIG, HUMONGOUS, 1900 Square foot news!

We have become homeowners. It's not the 5 bedrooms, the new carpet or the lovely neighborhood that drew me in. It's the backyard! For our price range, and desire to not have a fixer-upper - this backyard is a dream come true! I was so blessed to grow up with a huge backyard and our children LOVE to be outside and play. Now they can whenever the heck they want. We are so so so grateful for this house and so grateful we created a financial plan and followed it to get out of debt. We're not completely out, but our van is paid off and our cc's are on their way. We haven't increased the balance on our credit card in 2 years. I'm so proud of us, in a healthy-pride way.

Holy life, batman!

Okay so I don't even know where to begin! Our poor kids have been sick on and off - so that's been a bummer. Our apartment had mold in it, so we think that made it hard for them to stay healthy. Now we're out of there, so hopefully it shows in their health soon!

Matthew is LOVING working for Lime - it's still crazy how he's working in programming, life keeps taking us places we could never possibly plan ahead. He's also no longer the ward mission leader because we're in a new LDS ward, he'll miss it but hopefully we both get a calling soon! He's looking forward to taking a shot at playing hockey again in the adult leagues at the Peaks Ice Arena in a couple months. I fully support him :)

Patrick is just tall and getting smarter. He loves drawing, he's so artistic. I want to take pictures or scan in his work and make a book - he has SO MANY pages, and his younger brothers destroy them kind of quickly! He's a good big brother, very helpful. He's been moody lately, so hopefully some sunshine will do him some good!

Stephen is up and down still. We really think his diet is affecting his behavior. So many of you know I've been on a mission to raise awareness about harmful dyes - most specifically, Red 40. The FDA is FINALLY looking into it, I can't wait to see the results! The problem is they keep just calling it "hyperactivity," but it's way more involved than that. I hope they're thorough in their studies and don't just study the level/degree of activity... their ability to get to the bathroom in time, anger control, motivation to obey, paying attention, etc... anyway... He has been an awesome little helper. Like always, he wants to do as Patrick does and wants to grow up too fast!

William is a walker!!! He could stand and take some steps for MONTHS, but it's not until about a week ago he decided the walking thing is cool. He still tries to crawl sometimes, especially outside, but we remind him! He also has sounds for words for him to talk. Na-Na is food & drink, dah is yes, du is down and KKKwith some spit is for animals. You'll have to hear that last one to know what I'm talking about. And, by gollie, does he have teeth!

Amy - It's been a stressful semester, but I'm looking forward to the future. I only have math and then I'm done with my associates before I take a break for several years. I want to become lamaze certified THIS YEAR - Matthew supports me, I hope I get funds for it!

OUR PLANS So... next week, me and the kids are heading to Arizona, my amazing brother-in-law is going to replace my crown that has some decay underneath - it's been bugging me since the day it was put in several years ago, so I'm way excited because I know he'll do a better job! I'm so excited to see my sis and her family too! Then the kids and I will drive to California and see Grandma and Grandpa Garner and Auntie Suzy! We love them so very much and always treasure our visits there. Then we're going to get about 2 days to spend with Matthew's Grandpa Rose and Carol (not sure if she took the Rose name, sorry!)... a bunch of these old folks we're visiting are struggling with serious health issues and we hope we can bring a little warmth along with our craziness. We also have Grandparents LaMontange I wanted to mention because they're battling some health ailments as well. They're in Washington and we would love to make it up there to visit some time! You're all in our prayers and we wish you comfort and healing.

Our move has brought on so much happiness, I can't even tell you. The moving part is uncool, but being out of our small apartment makes me happy! We'll give you more details on where we are now in the future! Love you all!!!