Rudolph Update

Well I'm trying to add pictures and my computer is giving me crap.  SO, for now I'll just write and then edit later.  Our new addition to our family is Pheobe, our 2-year-old Cocker Spaniel/Lab mix little girl who is such a delight.  We adopted her from a local Humane Society, and she knows her commands and is loving and sweet to the kids.  She's small enough for Katie to take for walks and Joey loves to play with her by covering her with blankets and feeding her dog food.  She is so patient.  I love that she doesn't bolt out the door when someone comes.  She wiggles around the visitor (after barking) on the porch and is delighted to run right back in the house.  I love it!  

We've planned lots of family things before Eric leaves in about a month.  He still doesn't have a date, but it's coming up.  We got to attend an awesome Pre-deployment Fair which the kids got to make things like frames to put a family picture in, a Build-A-Bear with Eric's voice recorded in it, and a pillow case with a picture of each child with their Dad on it.  It's overwhelming how much they did for us, and it will really help in lonely times.  

Joey is recovered almost completely from his surgery.  It went very smoothly and we'll have tests in a few weeks to see the results of it.  He had bilateral ureter reimplantation to correct the reflux in his kidneys.  Basically, reattaching tubes from his kidneys to the bladder in a different spot so the urine stop backflowing into the kidneys, causing enlargement.  Overall, his health has been normal so we feel very blessed that this hasn't cause damage.  

Girl & Boy Scouts is in full swing, so it's hard to keep our calendar organized; we seem to have a lot of things overlapping and we have to decide what to nix.  I have become a Girl Scout team leader since the one from last year can't do it this year, so a few parents have stepped up to help out, but we're all a bit overwhelmed with learning the system and all.  This really seems fun, but I was hoping to not add too much to my plate while Eric is gone.  We'll see how it goes.  

Well, I'll see how this goes for now.  Love you all!

Olson Update

I nearly wrote "Fleming Update" for the title. Wow, it's been a while since I've done that! I did just read my brother's blog so that must be why. ;)

We are great here! The cool weather feels great! I love the fall season. Joseph is a lot more comfortable working in the cooler weather too.

I finally finished reading the Harry Potter books so I can get things done again. Haha! Michael was a great boy and played by himself all day yesterday while I read. This was a great change of pace because he has hit the clingy-Mom stage. He's also been working on teeth so he's been crankier than usual.

Other than battling teeth we don't have much to report here. I am planning a trip to Chicago in the next month or so to visit a college friend. She is battling cancer and it's not going well. We've decided to try something very different and she is going to start drinking my breast milk. I know it sounds crazy, but there are actually more and more cancer and chemo patients doing it with favorable results. Both she and I are a little squeamish about it but if it helps we're willing to try. If you know of anyone who has ever tried this, please let me know. We have no idea how much she should drink, etc. and have been trying to read up on it. We've only been able to find a bit of Swedish research and American articles on the topic. It's too difficult to ship the milk to her and I've wanted to visit the city for a long time so this is a great excuse. I may drive the extra 6 hours after that to see my brother's family in Columbus Ohio. And if I'm already in Columbus perhaps I could meet the Rudolphs too! (It will be Michael, myself and maybe my mom)

Hugs and (sloppy) kisses from our house to you!

Yellowstone Trip 2008

Here are a few pictures of our short trip to the Grand Tetons and Yellowstone National Park.
This is a picture of Old Faithful. We stayed for a while and looked around the Yellowstone Lodge and watched Old Faithful erupt a few times. It brought back memories of when as a child we went to Wyoming and tent camped in Yellowstone. I remember my mother getting some of the hot boiling water on her leg from the hot pots in West Thumb. Things have changed a little and visitors are more restircted in the amount of walking they can do around these areas. That is probably a good thing. Some people are so careless. The whole park is very clean and well taken care of by lots of forest rangers and volunteers.

This is our big expense for the year. The trailer is 27 feet long and sleeps four. It pulls very nicely. I hope we can get our money's worth out of it. After I retire (someday), we will travel and live in it where ever we decide to go or as the wind directs us. Gary's last truck that he bought brand new lasted for 24 years. Hopefully this will also.
We did see buffalo, but only just before we were ready to leave the park. I guess they wanted to say goodbye to us. They knew I was upset that we did not see many animals other than small ones from time to time. There were signs up all over to watch out for them.
This is a picture of the Tetons, they are remarkable. Snow never melts so there are glaciers on them. All in all it was a nice little trip. We camped six nights all together. We did take the dogs.

Next time we won't. Wet dog really can get stinky in a truck.

September Vacation

Hello Everyone!!!!
Yes, I know, I have not posted in a long time.
But I have been busy...reading and working and being a big pain if you ask Gary.
I have read the Twilight Series of books by Stephanie Meyer. If you have not read them and you enjoy a sweet love story about a 17 year old girl and a 17 year old vampire and a 16 year old werewolf, well these are the books for you. Enough said...maybe you want to read them so I will not go into more details.
Other news! Gary and I have purchased a new 2008 3/4 ton Dodge Ram Truck and a new trailer to pull behind it. We made the big plunge and will suffer making payments for the next few years.
I'll post pictures when I get them taken. Last weekend we took Kris with us and went up to our property in Ogden Canyon. A very nice and secluded area, no power, no nothing just mountains, narrow roads and beauty all around. On the scond day it rained and poured and then we had more rain. We saw lots of wild life, even a moose and it's calf. This was our maiden voyage, and there were a few glitches. But all is well and everything is working. This next week we are going to go to Yellowstone. So wish us luck and happy RVing.
I miss you all so much and think of you often. Sorry I am so slow about blogging and calling.
I'll try to have something to post in the near future.

BACK TO SCHOOL!

Hi there family!
It has been busy around here! School has started and it is going to be a great year.
I am working with a new speech patholgist. - Bonnie Bond. She is great.
The kids are doing so good. My principal is also very supportive.


My kitties are going well. Bella is growing up so fast! She is going be declawed and fixed at the end of the month. She is getting to be more cuddly.

This is quickie, but I also look at the blog at least every other day, so I'll get some pictures on here too!

LOVE YA ALL!

Kris