Abel is Home!

Abel was released from the hospital Wednesday, August 12. He is such a fighter. I cannot tell you how many times we were told to say our goodbyes to him. A couple of weeks ago he stats dropped very low. They rushed him into an emergency procedure where they were able to put 3 stents in his pulmonary veins. The doctors were worried they would not be able to put the stents in his veins due to how weak they may be. They were also worried that he was so sick that he may not make it through the procedure. It was a very hard day! The doctors also informed us that this was the last option. About 4 hours later the procedure went well and two weeks later he was sent home! He is so amazing and strong. He is on a feeding tube and oxygen at home. He will need to have at least two more open heart surgeries in the next coming months.

Tasha, B, and Daisy

While Abel is in the hospital I am watching Jill and Steve's dog, B. She looks really small in this picture; however, she is a lot bigger than my dogs. My dogs love her, especially Daisy!

Abel

On July 3 Abel was not eating and started to breath funny. Jill took him to the Dr. The Dr. decided it was best he went to the hospital. He ended up at Jordan Valley Hospital where they ran numerous tests and decided Abel should be sent Primary Children's Hospital by life flight. I was so relieved to see, Linda Chatwin, the life flight nurse, at Jordan Valley. I used to work with her husband and I know Linda is the best. No one is allowed to ride in life flight except the nurses, pilot, and patient. I drove Jill from Jordan Valley to Primary Children's I thought we were never going to get there! A couple hours after and some more tests on Abel we found out he has hypoplastic left heart syndrome. Basically, the left side of his heart did not form. The past two weeks have been a rollercoaster of not knowing what was going to happen to Abel. He had his first of three open heart surgeries on Tuesday, July 7. The next surgery will be performed when he is 4 months old and the last surgery will be performed 12 months after. On Tuesday, July 14, they closed up Abel's chest (they leave his chest open for the swelling to go down). He has responded so well and has been able to get off a lot of medication and had a bunch of tubes removed. Abel still has a long road to recovery and he has a couple of additional issues with some of his veins returning blood from his lungs to his heart. However, he has come so far! We should be able to hold him in about a week! Please keep Abel in your thoughts.

Riverton Rodeo

Nikki, Shanel, and Brittany at the Riverton Rodeo
Brittany and Matt

Shanel and Rick

Brad and Nikki

Money cows the kids chased

My "Nephew"

My really good friend, Jill, had a baby boy last Saturday, June 20. They named him Able Reed. Abel is 12 hours old in this picture.

Ragnar Relay

This last weekend I ran in the Ragnar Relay for the fourth year in a row. This year I was runner 11. Our team name was Lovely Bunch of Coconuts. We finished in 28 hours and 49 minutes and placed 77th out of the 331 teams in our division. We got off to an interesting start. We met up with Keri and Scott at the McGrath's in Layton. We were going to use Keri's suburban as our "van" for the next 24 hours. When we got there gas was pouring out of her gas tank. I have never seen anything like it. Matt ran to Auto Zone and returned with supplies to fix the hole in the tank. Matt plugged up one hole and the gas just came out another. Luckily, Jen, Scott's wife was nice enough to let us use her SUV. Within 5 minutes she was at McGrath's and we were on our way. The race went pretty smooth after the gas tank incident. Van 2 - Keri, Scott, Brittany, Julia, Tara, and Eric
Julia and Tara

Keri and Julia handing off at their first exchange.

Scott, Brittany, and Eric

Scott and Keri

Keri, Brittany, and Tara in the van.

Scott - thinking about his last leg and wishing he could have slept more than 1.5 hours last night.

Eric

Keri running the leg titled "You've got to be kidding me".

Julia running Ragnar

The view from the top of Ragnar - beautiful

Brittany on my last leg!

Eric after his last leg. Eric was the last runner and he had to run in the pouring ran with no support from us.

Most of our team - Jeff, Jen, Joy, Rex, Dawn, Chantelle, Brittany, and Eric. It was pouring rain!

Florida

I was able to go to Florida with my friend, Shanel, her daughter, and her boyfriends daughter. Both girls are named Kailtin. Kaitlin and Kaitlyn at the Beach.
Kaitlin and Grayden playing in the waves at the beach.

Kaitlyn and her favorite rollercoaster - The Montu

Brittany and Shanel on the train at Busch Gardens. It was so HOT!

Katilin and Kaitlyn by the big tortoise.

Grayden and Kaitlyn on a ride at Busch Gardens.

Kaitlin did not want to go on the water ride so she decided to watch in the splash zone. She ended up more wet than everyone who went on the ride.

Kaitlyn, Brittany, and Shanel after a water ride at Islands of Adventure.

Kaitlin and Kaitlyn at Islands of Adventure

Kaitlin with her funnel cake Islands of Adventure. Funnel cake was the best way to end the trip!

Where Daisy Sleeps

We have a lot of dog beds in our house. However, Daisy chooses to sleep on the hardwood floor wedged between the wall and the dresser on her back. She looks so uncomfortable, but this where you can find her every night.

Best Friends and Bryce Canyon

Brittany and Lisa at the Sand Dunes
Lisa, Jill, and Lauren walking Karma

Velvet and Marie

Marie and Karma

Rocky

Marie and Lauren at Bryce Canyon

Lisa, Jill, Lauren, Marie, Kristy, Barney, Lily, and I volunteered at Best Friends Animal Society over the weekend. My friend, Lisa, is amazing and put the whole trip together. We helped Best Friends for a couple of day by walking dogs, taking dogs on outings, having sleepovers with dogs, playing with cats, cleaning bunny pens, cleaning horse stalls, and cleaning bird cages. It was a lot of fun and a little work! I thought I would be sad to see all the animals who need homes; however, Best Friends is a very nice place. Every dog we took for a sleepover was excited to go back "home". On our way home we stopped at Bryce Canyon.

Triathlon

Eric, Tammy, and Brittany before the race.

Shanel, Nikki, and Mason came out to watch.

Finishing up the bike portion.

Changing after the bike for the swim. Yes, I had to change outside!

After the swim. I had to go back outside in the cold to get my clothes. VERY COLD!

On April 18, I competed in my first sprint triathlon. I had to run 3.1 miles, bike 10 miles, and swim 350 meters. I was very nervous! I had been swimming a couple times a week for the last couple of months, but swimming is not my strong point and was really nervous because it was last. My friend, Marie, let me borrow her road bike and I was only able to ride it once before the race. I finished in one hour 12 minutes I took third place in my division! I was so shocked when I saw the results. The triathlon was a lot of fun. In fact, I liked it a lot more than I thought I would. I think I will compete in a few more...maybe even some that are longer distances.

Easter

We went to my mom's house for dutch pancakes Easter morning.

Grandma taking a break!

Crystal and Nate