Buddy Walk 2009

Our first Buddy walk was amazing! I am so thankful for all the love and support that was shown to Justin and our family! It means so much to us. So much time and work was put in to this event. I saw so many people that I have met through blogs and facebook, it was so good to finally meet them in person! It was so wonderful to meet some new friends too. I just wish I would have had a little more time to talk to all of them! I am so excited to make this a yearly tradition! Love my angel!

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Bright light in Times Square!

Almost two months ago, we received this very exciting e-mail from the National Down Syndrome Society....

Congratulations! After a nationwide search, the photo you submitted for the 2009 NDSS Times Square Video has been selected! The video will run in Times Square in the heart of New York City on the MTV plasma screen on Saturday, September 26, 2009.

The day has finally arrived! Tomorrow his darling picture will be shown in a special video presentation the morning of the New York City Buddy walk! This wonderful event helps to promote acceptance and inclusion of all people with Down syndrome. This year about 2500 photos were entered, and only 226 will appear in the video. The National Down Syndrome Society envisions a world in which all people with Down syndrome have the opportunity to enhance their quality of life, realize their life aspirations, and become valued members of a welcoming community. I will be so excited when my DVD arrives in the mail!

We are very excited to be attending our first Buddy Walk here in Salt Lake City tomorrow as well! It has been so much fun planning our team and watching his team grow! Pictures are soon to come!

GO TEAM JUSTIN!

Family adventures!

We sat around Saturday morning contemplating what we should do for the day. We realized that summer is about over and we really haven't spent much time in the beautiful mountains that we are surrounded by....
So American Fork Canyon it was!

The kids had so much fun walking the trails, throwing sticks in the water, and climbing mini rock walls!

As we drove out of the canyon, we saw this fabulous Discovery park and just had to stop! The kids had a blast!

You can't go to American fork with out having Taco Amigo for dinner! As you can tell, the girls thoroughly enjoyed their ice cream cones!

We also decided that we would start up our Mommy-daughter and Daddy-daughter dates again. This month April was able to choose who she wanted and where she wanted to go. Lucky me! We were able to do a round of miniature golf together! We had so much fun... she even won!

I love my family!

It still fits!

This post won't come as a surprise to any of my family (they have witnessed it a time or two!) ... but I still think it is hilarious!
FIVE years ago my girls got these cute pajamas from Grandma and Papa for Christmas. Taylee (right) was 2 1/2 yrs. old at the time. Well, as the years have gone by, she has continued to wear them. Each year I tell her, "Taylee... you really shouldn't be wearing those anymore. Pretty soon your booty will be hanging out." To which she says .....

"MOM.... I LOVE these jammies! I will NEVER stop wearing them. Besides, it still fits!"

FYI - size of jammies - 24 month!
Button on the back of the neck - impossible to button!
I guess this is what she'll pack when she has sleepovers. Maybe they'll even be in her drawer during college. I feel bad for her future hubby!

Clap with me!

We've been clapping a lot around here!

Dad put me against the wall so that I could practice standing with out holding on to something. (couch, coffee table, etc.) There was so much clapping going on, so I thought I'd join in! I didn't even fall while I was clapping!

You guessed it... more clapping! Mommy and Daddy bought me a new forward facing car seat this morning! They started clapping when I sat in it. Of course I had to clap too!

Apparently my sisters were big enough at 9 months to sit forward.... I'm 16 1/2 months and SO ready to see what they see! I LOVE it! It feels so good to be big!

Heber City birthday bash!

Saturday evening we had the opportunity to spend time with Preslie and her family in Heber City to celebrate her 1st birthday!

(the cuties checking each other out!)

The property was beautiful and very refreshing! We learned in a hurry that Justin is NOT a fan of horses and cows! That's okay though... we weren't going to rush out and buy any anyway!

Taylee and Brynn enjoyed running up and down the mini mountain right in their backyard!

April was so excited when she finally had the chance to hold sweet P! She kept asking me when she could have a turn to hold her... she was in Heaven!

We were also able to see Jaxson and his family at the party. Everyone loves holding Jaxson. He's quite the angel. The girls soaked up his love!

I know I always say this, but I am so thankful that Heavenly Father placed these angels in our lives! They are wonderful friends!

I'm a big girl!

I can hardly believe that my little Brynn isn't so little anymore! Today was her first day of pre-school! She has been so excited for this day (especially since I didn't put her in last year), but once the day finally came, she wasn't so excited.
On our way to school she was trying to hold back the tears. We took her to the store to buy her a candy necklace to put in her backpack. (She didn't like that it was empty anyway) We told her she could have it if she made it through her first day. What do you know... it was time to drop her off and the flood gates opened! We said our good-byes....

and came back to this happy face 2 1/2 hours later! She loves pre-school! She couldn't wait to show me what was in her backpack and to finally put on her candy necklace! (which she deserved! Miss Amy said she only cried long enough for us to walk out the door) She asked if she could go to McDonalds for being such a big girl! (yuck... but again, she deserved it!)

I am going to loose one fantastic shopping buddy. She loves everything about running errands... which makes it so nice! Whether I like it or not, she's officially a pre-schooler! Justin and Mommy had some fun of our own while she was off playing!

I'm pretty sure he'll keep me plenty entertained while the three girls are off at school!

End of summer happenings!

I was going through my pictures and realized that there is a lot I didn't blog about this past month! Here are a few of the things we have been doing as summer is coming to an end...

Uncle Mike was cool enough to teach swimming lessons this year. As nervous as they were, they loved every minute of it and were sad to see it come to an end.
(April with her cousin Ashlee)

Taylee showing off her mermaid skills.

Brynn is learning the real technique! Mike truly is amazing. Not many people know how to deal with Brynn and her funny attitudes, but he made lessons so fun!

A final visit to our new local "beaches."

(April, cousin Kendra, cousin Ashlee, and Taylee)

A summer BBQ and carnival at Grandma's apartment!

The birth of Sadie Goldhardt! (cousin)

Daddy Daughter Bowling date! The girls couldn't wait and enjoyed every minute of it!

Brynn asks every day if she can go bowling again.. but ONLY with Dad!

It's always so sad to know that summer is coming to an end. But we sure have enjoyed it and all of our many activities!

Happy and over it!

Thanks to all of you who offered such wonderful advice and let me vent in that last post! It was obviously effecting me more than I thought... but today is a new day and I am over it! I count my blessings daily and don't want to take away from that. I am blessed with so much, this is just another bump in the road that will soon pass. I know Heavenly Father will never give us more than we can handle!
We have decided to keep our pricey insurance. It's too much of a risk to drop it. I do have several phone calls and applications in as of tonight! Any help for my sweet one will help! So thank you ALL again... for everything!

Dumbfounded....

I am absolutely sick to my stomach. I am sorry that this post is a vent session... but I also need some advice. We have had the same health insurance coverage for years. 7 1/2 years to be exact. When we started we paid around $350 per month. We are currently just pennies shy of $800 per month. It has gone up significantly since Justin was diagnosed with Down syndrome. Since that diagnosis... they have denied coverage for many things. So not only do we pay $800 per month to be insured, but we owe many hospitals additional money from the non-covered things. We are basically paying a mortgage every month in Medical bills. We decided to call and switch to Catastrophic Health coverage only. I know that's scary, but we are tapped out in medical expenses. Well, NO WAY would anyone even consider us! Are you kidding me?! Because of Justin, they won't make ANY changes to our policy. Nor will any other insurance companies! The only change we can make is to drop coverage all together or drop HIM and leave him un-insured. I know our system is whacked... but give me a break! Tyler works his butt off to put food on our table and a roof over our head, and this is what we get. But there are those who sit on their butts every day and work the system... they are better off than us at this point! It makes me sick! Now that I have gotten that off my chest, does anyone know what we can do for Justin. We can get insured somehow with out him, but what about HIM!? He is the one I worry about the most, even though he is very healthy. Does he qualify for Shriners Hospital if he needs medical attention? How does CHIP work? I know I can look all of this up and make calls, but I am in no mood to talk. I am in tears trying to figure out how to stay afloat through all of this. Thanks for your advice....

Hot diggity dog!

What do ya know... summer is almost over and we finally took the boat out! Well, Tyler has taken it out a few times... but this is a first for our family. Better late than never, right?!

I am always so glad when another adult can come along. I am not quite a "boaters wife" yet. I have a lot of fears, and driving a boat would be one of them! Thanks Kyle for joining us! The kids always have a good time with you!

Brynn continues to be our dare devil. She doesn't care how fast the boat is going, she'll reach over to touch the water during her ride! We even had to stop her from jumping off the hot dog before the boat stopped!

Justin wasn't a big fan of the water... but when it's over 100* outside, it was the only thing I could do to cool him off!

April has a lot of fears like her Mommy... and going on this hot dog was one of them. We slowly got her to warm up to it, now she can't wait to go again! That alone... made the trip successful!

We also noticed the voices of cousins while our boat was stopped so we could swim. Sure enough, it was the Dean crew! We ended up taking their kids on a few rides! The cousins loved it!

Justin spent most of his time doing this.... I couldn't help but capture his cute little feet!

Now we just pray for a few more weekends of fabulous weather. It was so much fun and the boat is actually working! YIPPEE!