Fall Fun

We got all dressed up for our church's Halloween party on Saturday.

Chuck was in charge of the fishing booth for the kids.  He had a fun time making and running the game. Jared served as the one putting on the prizes in the back.

Kaitlin made an adorable pirate.

Jared was especially proud of winning 2nd prize with his Perry Platypus pumpkin.

Kaitlin carved Phineas, and Ruth carved Isabella - both characters from Phineas and Ferb.

My pumpkin.  There is also a skeleton on the top and one escaping out the back.

Last week we went to the new Sheels, a super mega super sporting goods store.

I spent a lot of the week making costumes.

A cappella Choir 

Kaitlin's first choir concert of the year was this week.  She's really enjoying singing with the more advanced singers. And it doesn't hurt that she sits right next to the tenor section either.  We were lucky enough to have a graduate pass on their choir dress to us, and a friend helped hem it in time for the concert this week.  Kaitlin will have several more concerts, including a benefit concert to help pay for their big trip to New York City in the spring. 


Bear Scout

Jared earned his Bear badge this week, and five arrow points.  He did a lot of extra work on scouts over the summer, which is why he has finished a little early. It also helps a lot to have a mom that knows to check the book and sign off all the things he is already doing.  Jared also dug out the old Lite-Brite this week.  How he sorted the colored pegs may give you some insight into his character.

Pumpkin Walk

Tumble weed jack-o-lanterns.

On Saturday we visited my folks and went to their small town pumpkin walk.  Unfortunately it was cold and windy; not a good day to linger. Still, the mountains we in fall colors and the clouds were hanging low around the peeks.  After the walk we spent some time at the farm visiting with family and once the weather warmed a bit we went out to take some family photos.

How Many People Does it Take to Replace the Mother?

Today I went off to practice with the church choir, which had changed its rehearsal time to Sunday afternoon, almost to our dinner time.  When I came home I found the whole family working away in the kitchen. Jared was grating huge piles of cheese and weighing it on our postal scale. Ruth was making the sauce.  Kaitlin was just finishing up some cornbread and Chuck was trying to do damage control.   It was a wonderful surprise and I enjoyed watching as they all worked away in the kitchen.  The result was a very tasty dinner of homemade macaroni and cheese.

Happy Birthday, Ruth!

Ruth turned 13 on Tuesday.  We celebrated by having her favorite dinner, sweet pork enchiladas with lime rice, and then she went to youth group where they had cookies and sang her happy birthday.   Ruth was happy to get some clothes and jewelry.  She was most excited about getting her own offical facebook page.

Here they are planing a game called "hitch hiker"

 On Friday, Ruth threw a party for her friends.  She planed and did the invites and everything. It was an "Improv" party.  For those of you  not in the drama scene, that means they played improvisation games, drama games that require on the spot acting.  It was by far the noisiest party that I've ever experienced.  Imagine nine girls, too young to understand subtlety, all acting out simultaneously.  If the smiles and laughing were any measure, they all had a fabulous time. 


Hanging Out with Jared

Jared playing in Ruth's wrapping paper.

Jared started his off-track by taking swimming lessons. He did so well that not only did he pass the level he was on, but his instructor passed him on the next level as well.  Since this is our first off-track where it is just Jared and I, we've been trying to find things to do together.  We've spent a lot of time playing Super Hero Squad online together.  We play super heroes and we go on missions and play card games together.  It's been pretty fun and I'd recommend the game to anyone with kids in the 5-12 range.

Goodbye, Aladdin

Monday night was the closing night of Aladdin. The show was cute and Ruth had a good time doing it.



Here is a link to some video highlights from the show. I included a song from the choir to give you all a concept of how big the choir I was working with was, and what a good job they did.

Cast photo.  I'm in there behind the aqua genie. Ruth is about 1/3 from the left.

I don't have many pictures of my involvement in the show. But here is one of me getting my thank you gift on Monday night at the end of the final show.

Homework, Homework, Homework, Rats!  

Kaitlin sleeping on her homework.

 School is in full swing for all the kids.  Jared has been very busy working on a book report this week, and Kaitlin with her three AP classes is drowning in homework every night and all weekend.  Here is a clue to how bad it is; today Kaitlin admitted that math was her easiest classes.  Yes, math!   The only kid that seems not be be swamped with school work is Ruth. So far the hardest part about middle school has been remembering to wash her gym cloths.

Aladdin

It's always a miracle when a musical comes together. This one is especially miraculous figuring the disastrous condition the show was in during our two dress rehearsals. But there is something about the stress and excitement of putting on the actual show that seems to pull everything together.  On Tuesday I thought this would probably  be the worse show I had ever been involved in, by the closing number on opening night, Thursday, it had turned into a show I was proud to be a part of.

Ruth is doing great in her part and gets better and better each night.  She is calm, confident and commanding on the stage.  When we did The Music Man together four years ago she was terrified, clinging to my hand and skirts every time we went on stage.  She has come such a long way, and it is all a result of her determination to face her fears.  I couldn't be more proud.

While Ruth is on the stage, I spend my evening sitting with the chorus giving them their cues to get on and off the stage.  There are almost 90 kids in the choir and we get them on the stage and singing within 10 seconds.  I've had several parents tell me that their kids are having a great time, and our mic guy said that this is one of the most organized kids shows he has ever worked on.

Here are some pictures of the show.  Next week I'll put up some video highlights as well.  We will also be getting a DVD of the show which I'll make copies of for the grandparents. We have one more show on Monday night.

Ruth is scolding Jasmine for running away.

Here Ruth is forcing Jasmine into a loveless marriage.

Ruth calls Aladdin a "Raaaaaaagamuffin!"

Plates full of jewels cause Ruth to have a change of heart towards Aladdin.

Ruth telling off her husband, the sultan.

One of the gags of the show was that the sultan was so small, Ruth towered over him.

Ruth posing for pictures at the end of the show.

Kaitlin Does Not Have Hantavirus... or Does She?
a.k.a.  The Great Homecoming Adventure

I've watched the news about the hantavirus outbreak at Yosemite Nation Park with only passing interest.  That is until Kaitlin unexpectedly came home from school on Wednesday with a fever.

US Nation Library of Medicine:
"Symptoms: The early symptoms of hantavirus disease are similar to the flu and include:
Chills, Fever, Muscle Aches."  Incubation time 3-6 weeks.

Fever? Check.  

Muscle Aches? Just yesterday she was complaining about how sore she was. She thought it was from her new ballroom dance class.  Muscle Aches? Check.

Incubation time? (I did the math in my head) It had been 4 weeks since her visit to Yosemite. Check.

But what were the chances really. She probably just had the flu. So Kaitlin stayed on the couch all that night and the next day. By Friday her fever broke and she went to a half day of school.


Friday morning I read on the internet that they were expanding their warnings to all those that camped in Yosemite.  Kaitlin confirmed that she had visited Curry Village during her visit, ground zero of the virus outbreak. 

"People with hantavirus may begin to feel better for a very short amount of time, but within 1-2 days, it becomes hard to breathe. The disease gets worse quickly. Symptoms include: Cough...Shortness of breath..."

No cough or shortness of breath. Good.

I called our family doctor, knowing that I was probably overreacting, but just to be safe.  To my surprise, he said that it was possible that Kaitlin did have hantavirus.  That most people who are exposed just get a little sick, but then their immune systems kick in and after a couple of days kill the virus. It is those that for whatever reason are not able to combat the virus that get the extreme symptoms and the high mortality rate. He said that if Kaitlin was feeling better then there was nothing to worry about.  If she was endangered by the virus we'd be "rushing her to the emergency room" it would be so severe.

 On Saturday morning Kaitlin was still feeling ill, but took some medication and felt well enough to go on the day-date with her friends.  She had missed the football game the night before, and was excited to share the news that our doctor said that she may have had the hantavirus. For all the afternoon Kaitlin and a group of friends went to a fun center where she learned that both she and her date were horrible miniture golfers and that bumper boats are fun, even if they squirt you in the face.

She was tired but excited. Another round of medication and an hour on her hair and she was ready for the dance.  She looked stunning, and was just glowing and bubbling over with excitement.  The young man that picked her up looked similarly happy, and a little nervous. 

So far so good.... Fast forward.

 At 10:30 Kaitlin bursts through the door. "Mom!" She is coughing and gasping.  She says she was at the dance when suddenly she couldn't catch her breath. I help her out of her dress, and have her lie down.  She is breathing really shallow and is threatening to faint. I am forced to make a mommy decision and I load her in the van and we are off to the Instacare. 

As I speed down the dark road towards the hospital the words of our doctor about rushing to the emergency room are coursing through my mind.  Kaitlin is still gasping. She can't get a breath and several times I think she is going to pass out.  She doesn't and somehow maintains a positive attitude.

We pull up to our hospital at the door that is marked "Instacare" in large glowing letters. I put Kaitlin on my shoulder and we walk to the doors.  They don't open.  In small print we read that we have to use the south doors after 10pm.  I set Kaitlin on the curb and run for the car. We drive down to the south doors and I walk Kaitlin to a bench while I park the car.  I walk her through the doors and down the hall to the Instacare which is at the other end of the hospital.  When we get there it is closed.  There is no one around. There are no signs.  We head back down the deserted hallway when we see a nurse watching the last quarter of the BYU vs. U game.  He says that we have to go to the emergency room.  To make a long story short we end up wandering around the hospital, Kaitlin still gasping, unable to walk unaided. And we are laughing.  Laughing that we could both die right there in the hospital hallway and our corpses would not be found until morning. Sometimes you laugh or you cry, and in this instance laughing seemed like the best option.

We finally make it to the emergency room and I force Kaitlin into a wheel chair.   Within 15 minutes we are triaged and sent back to wait in the chairs.  Kaitlin's breathing has calmed somewhat at this point but she is light headed and unable to stand.   All the hospital staff are crowded around the TV for the last minutes of the big game when we are finally shown to a room where Kaitlin is prodded and questioned and prodded some more. Did she eat shellfish?  Does she have asthma?  Does she feel any pain? The doctor comes and the prodding continues and he studies the monitors.  Finally he decides she needs a chest x-ray.  It is now midnight and BYU has lost the game. Kaitlin is much better by the time we make it to x-rays. We get to see pictures of her insides which we both think is cool.  Back to the room to wait, where Kaitlin tells me about her day and how wonderful it was and how great the dance was.  We are chatting and laughing, and the nurse brings us Sprite with the cool ice that's fun to chew.  The doctor finally comes back and gives us the good news. Diagnosis:  Panic Attack.

Nothing is wrong with Kaitlin other than she had hyperventilated.  She had never had a panic attack before but they say it is not uncommon, especially in young adults to have an occasional episode. Especially considering the stress on her body and psyche from her sickness, the hantavirus scare, and the excitement of a wonderful day with a boy she really likes. 

We drive home. It is past 1:00am.  We are in good spirits.  Kaitlin is mad that the attack ruined her last hour of Homecoming.  She feels guilty and talks about making an apology cake for her date saying "You Take My Breath Away".   Mostly we are glad that she is alright. 


Aladdin

Aladdin opens this week so we've been busy with rehearsals.  It's that week before the show when everything is chaos and you think it will never come together.  But by the end of the week things were looking a little better.  I also got Ruth's costume put together.  Ruth finished adding jewels to her crown on Saturday.  The show opens on Thursday.