Jammin

A couple of weeks ago, sweet Karen in my ward drove to Oxnard and picked us up some gorgeous strawberries. Oxnard strawberries are known for making fabulous jam so...there's a first time for everything! Rachel and I had both never made jam and couldn't believe how easy it was. Between class parties and graduations-we made four batches of jam. I love freezer jam because it tastes so fresh and I LOVE big chunks of strawberries in my jam. YUM. I caught the bug and ended up making 8 more batches of strawberry, raspberry, and peach THAT DAY. I think we have enough jam to last us for quite some time. ***Funny story-to try and keep the summertime "grazing" by the kids to a minimum, I posted kitchen hours in my kitchen-if the kitchens not open, STAY OUT! Anyway, I was looking for something in the outside freezer and noticed there was an empty bottle of jam. I asked the kids who had eaten it and apparently my boys were so hungry during "kitchen closed" time that they at the jar as a snack. Hmmm. Maybe I need to lighten up a bit.

Princess Birthday Strikes Again!

This year's birthday celebration was worthy of a princess (or a Queen). The morning started with a super fun birthday breakfast with all my girlfriends at Market Street-my favorite! Thanks to all my wonderful friends for taking the morning off to spend with me! Right after, I went and had a massage (divine), and then met my sweet Mom for a day of SHOPPING! We found some great stuff-but the best part was definitely just being together. We shopped till we dropped and then had a nice dinner at Firenze in Encinitas-SO good. I can't thank you enough Mom for all you do for me. The next day, we headed off to Vegas for our annual birthday getaway with the Hazens. Rob and I share a birthday just a day apart so our spouses always plan a trip. How lucky are we? First stop was Nessy Burger....

My gross hubby

Later that night, we celebrated yet AGAIN with food (are you catching a theme here?-it's no wonder I'm on a constant diet)

The next morning was spent lounging by the pool. We stayed at the Green Valley Resort just outside the strip. I highly recommend it. It had more of a Resort feel than a Vegas Hotel feel. The pool was so cool with a beach entry (with real sand) and king-sized cushioned lounge chairs. We were so lucky to enjoy some unseasonably mild weather for Vegas.

That night, Matt and Rachel surprised me with my first ever LIMO ride! Can you believe I just turned 37 and have never been in a limo? For school dances, we always borrowed a car (thanks Dad and RQ) so I'd never had any reason to ride in a limo. What a sweet thought for a birthday surprise!

We had the driver stop for Diet Cokes...

And got the giggles REALLY bad (love Matt's face in this picture)

Rachel couldn't resist taking a picture of the "Kindle Kouple" (please ignore the double chin-I'm trying to)

As you can see, this was a perfect birthday! Thanks to all my loved ones for making it so special.

Happy Birthday to Me!

Today is my 37th birthday. Thirty-seven seems like a pretty good age to me...not too old, not too young-about just right. My 37 years have been good to me and I feel like I have accomplished a lot in my life. I have love, I have children, I have a beatiful home, and dear friends. I have also had trials, but have had the strength to overcome, or at least deal, with them. My life is a gift and I am grateful to my parents for bringing me into the world and for a Heavenly Father who guides me daily. I have a great day planned starting with breakfast with friends, a massage, and a shopping day with my mom. What could be better? Oh yeah, my sexy hubby is taking me to Vegas for the weekend and my amazing father-in-law is watching my kids. LIFE IS GOOD!

It Was A "Memorial"able Day!

Cute Girls and Sandcrabs...

Jumping for Joy to be spending the day at 3 Arch Bay in Laguna Beach

Sammy and Jane's "fishy" creation

My date for the day

Henry and Hillary (is there anything more precious than mother love?)

My kids who were willing to pose for a picture (some just barely)

Peek-a-Boo!

Cave people

Where's Jakey?

Cousin Love

Hanky Panky acting shy

Why I have no pictures of my teenager-she was in the water the WHOLE time!

Can you tell how much she likes pictures?

Cousin fun (thanks Spencer for taking the picture!)

After a wonderful 5 hours at the beach (glorious), we headed over to Mom and Dad's for a Memorial Day BBQ. Mom had stayed behind and spent all day preparing yummies. Thanks Mom (why don't I have a picture of you???) Unfortunately, Matt made travel plans for work without realizing he would be on a plane all day-we missed you honey and the day was just shy of perfect because you weren't there.

Hot DOG!

The teenager smirk

Is there something in my teeth Mom?

Good thing that's a ROOT beer in your hand buddy

I love Sister Time

Miracle of Miracles...

I'm almost scared to write this down...as if saying it out loud or putting pen to paper will break the spell. I FEEL GOOD. Wow...how long has it been since I've been able to say those words? Nine months? About the length of a pregnancy-only I have no sweet-smelling prize at the end of this journey. I'm not complaining. Last week I woke up and "lightbulb" went off in my head. Most of my symptoms (flushing, puffy face and neck, palpitations, muscle fatigue, etc.) didn't actually start till AFTER my ER and hospital stay. A couple of days after being released, my cardiologist started me on high blood pressure meds for my intermitent high bp and chest pain. I had been drifting off to sleep during my "lightbulb" moment and was prompted by the Spirit to check on the internet for possible side effects of my medication. Whammo...that was it! Although the side effects I was experiencing are extremely uncommon, they were ALL there-every last one of them. Could it be? Could this possibly be the wrong medication all along? I decided to slowly wean off the medications and guess what? I feel like myself again-almost. I still have slightly elevated BP and have to stay on ONE of the meds-but was able to go off two of them. I am still tired as well-but both of those things can easily be explained by my sleep apnea diagnosis. If I wasn't so grateful, I'd be stinkin' mad that I've spent the last nine months feeling like crap, that I spent the holidays believing I had CANCER. In my dr.'s defense, these side effects are extremely rare (my PCP has never seen them in his 20+ years of practice). So, after being tested for heart defects, carcinoid, lupus, metabolic syndrome, pheochromocytoma, thyroid disorders, renal stenosis...YOU NAME IT...this may actually be the answer. ***I am having my nose problems (conchobulosa, a polyp blocking one of my sinuses, deviated septum, inflamed turbinates, etc.) fixed on July 15th and will be able to be fitted for a CPAP machine and then I might actually be completely back to normal. What a journey.