Fall 2011

Who has the cutes niece and newphews....WE DO! Zayden, Brylee and Kingston are precious! We did Halloween in Harris Ranch at Nanna's. Mom made mummy meatloaf, witches broomsticks (and soup for Jonathan). Zayden was Lightning 'Queen (too cute) from Cars. Bry was a fairy princess, I think at one point she said a tooth fairy princess and Kingston despite being the cutest little Bronco fan ever....he was a little lion! Bry and Zayden got a lot of candy and Jonathan and Rob even managed a beer from one of the houses!

Zac, Kingston and I at Joel and Lindsay's for Jonathan's birthday brunch before the football game! I think we're going to be a pretty cute family someday!

During Thanksgiving break we babysat Kingston for an afternoon so Jonathan could run some errands. Kingston is such a good little baby.

The dogs have just been hanging out being good boys. I do think they miss traveling on the weekends and getting out of Boise, but with Zac's school schedule we've become homebodies this semester. I know they are going to be super excited to go to McCall and Hailey during our Christmas break. The neighbor's dog broke into our yard and the three dogs chased each other for a good 2 hours or so. They loved it! I don't know how I feel about the fence that is broken....I'm hoping the neighbor gets it taken care of soon!

Going back to August....we celebrated Cam's birthday up in McCall for a fun night around the fire pit with some wine, a little shuffle board and then a beautiful Saturday on the lake. It was a good time! Unfortunately, it was one of those times Zac had to pass up for studying and school work. Hopefully those times will become fewer as he gets past this first rigorous semester.

Jonathan and I on the tube....we took our fair share of spills...but we had so much fun!

I have an amazing group of first graders this year! They always put a smile on my face!

Jonathan after his surgery.....Jonathan had been having some pains, headaches, tingling and numbness so he went into see a neurosurgeon. The doctor ordered an MRI, read the MRI and gave Jonathan a week to schedule surgery. Unbeknownst to Jonathan, his neck was so unstable, a simple trip or whiplash could result in paralysis. Very scary! His vertebrae were compromising his spinal cord creating painful symptoms and instability.

We celebrated Jonathan's birthday with some tailgating, a heart wrenching loss to TCU (by a missed field goal) and then a fun party at his house, before he went into surgery on Monday. The surgery was supposed to be a pretty routine operation with only an overnight stay. However, the medicine wasn't working, Jonathan was very nausea and throwing up, and in A LOT of pain. By Wednesday morning he had so much medicine in his system, it produced the reversal of effects and he stopped breathing. We will never know how long he wasn't breathing, Anna woke up to his nurse calling for the "Rapid Response Team." He was grayish in color and his oxygen level (which should have been at 98-100) had plummeted to an incredibly low 4! The team of nurses and doctors got him breathing with a mask, but he was completely unresponsive! They gave him an IV to reverse the effects of the narcotics and warned he would be in a lot of pain upon coming to again. I took a half day to spend the afternoon with him. By the time I got to the hospital around noon, we was still pretty out of it, but able to open his eyes. By mid-afternoon he was starting to ask a lot of questions....he doesn't remember any of it! I think we are very lucky to still have Jonathan with us and without any brain damage. Jonathan is almost a month post-operation and he is so much better! He is still home off of work, but goes to see his doctor in the next week or so, will begin physical therapy and hopefully be cleared to get back to work.

Wow it has been a very busy fall for us....between Zac studying and BSU football, we haven't had much down time.

Zac is almost done with his first (and hopefully hardest and most time consuming) semester of his radiology program. He has finals and then he's a free man for a month. He got his placement for clinicals next semester. He will be going out to Ontario....which is a long drive (an hour away), but luckily everyone says it's worth the drive and he only does clinicals two times a week next semester so that's good.

As for Bronco football....we suffered another heart-wrenching, gut-twisting loss by a single point, this time to TCU....and it wouldn't be a loss unless it came with a missed field goal! It wasn't nearly as bad as the Nevada game last year, but now it is starting to sink in, how bad it really was, and how much it cost us, despite being three weeks ago. Had we won, we would have ended the season undefeated....with only one other team in the BCS rankings undefeated (LSU), this could have been our year to play in the national championship! Sooooo close, yet soooo far away. As it turns out, we may not even get a BCS bowl bid at all! Getting so close to a the national championship to absolutely nothing......all over one loss....that's our ridiculous college football system for ya! I did dream all night last night that we got a bid to the Fiesta Bowl....and if my dream becomes a reality, Zac and I will find a way to get to the game! But for now our fate is in the hands of BSU haters and some computers....so we very well may end up playing LA Tech (yes from the WAC) in the Poinsettia Bowl...we have played them the last ten years....for Kellen and Doug's last game....come on! Look at the big picture people! We have the all time most winningest quarterback in college football history and our senior class has the best career record of any senior class in college football history! We are 50-3 over the last four years....give the Broncos what they deserve!

We have one last game to watch the talented senior class....hopefully it's a BCS bowl! It has been such an honor to watch Kellen lead our team with such poise and class! He will be missed by Bronco Nation and the next play caller has some big shoes to fill! Oh, and when you get sick of playing with the big boys, feel free to come back to BSU for some coaching! We would welcome you back here in a heartbeat!

10 Year High School Reunion!

Wow, I can't believe it's been 10 years since we graduated from good ol' Wood River. Since Zac and I were in the same class, we both had a blast catching up with old buddies and reminiscing about high school memories. We laughed the night away! Goic's parents were generous enough to let us have a BBQ/bonfire at their house, with camping available. It was the perfect setup for the perfect night. We played volleyball, shot potato guns, threw a football, dressed up for fun pictures, hung around the fire pit, watched our senior video all the while listening to music from our high school days. And it was only appropriate to wake up to more potato guns and a delicious breakfast with good friends at the Powerhouse in Hailey.



Zac and I...who would have ever thought! He's the love of my life!



Max (our class president-he did an amazing job of orchestrating the weekend), Zac and I. Too much fun!



Kirtley, Zac and I being silly. Amber and Zeb rode over with us, we all camped out, and headed back the next day around noonish, in time for the BSU vs GA game. As a side note, we did leave our reunion early to watch the Bronco game. I was sad to leave everyone, and would have loved to hang out another night or two....but we're true to Bronco Nation and couldn't miss the game with our BSU friends and family.

From best friends in high school....to ten years later...married for six years and happily in love. That's our story in a nutshell!

WRHS varsity volleyball team....junior year, 1999. Of course I had to stand in the back row in between two of my best friends (Sarah and Danica). That was the one and only time I've ever made my way into the back row of a picture....clearly I don't fit in.

Senior year....heading out on an away game....in our comfy volleyball sweatshirts and sweatpants.....hey we were seniors and ruled the school so who cares what we wore! Danica, Aly, Amber and I.

A couple years out of high school, Zac and I behind the house for a bonfire!

It was a great night, with lots of laughter, smiles, memories and good friends. Well worth our trip up to the beautiful WR valley. Home sweet home and even felt homeier (if that is such a word) being around old high school buddies.

Mountain Biking

Panoramic view of Boise!

I grew up with a mountain bike and went on family rides here and there. Then I went to the San Juan Islands on my mountain bike (because I wouldn't have it any other way) with Mom and Cam and I don't think I have touched my bike since. That was over ten years ago! Despite talking about that trip frequently and even wanting to go back, it was that trip that made me hate biking.

Zac grew up on a BMX bike and a motorcycle. I tried getting into dirt biking...we got a bike for me and I was all decked out in super cute black and pink Fox gear. However, it only took the annoying ruts in trails and one too many wrecks to decide dirt biking wasn't for me. While Zac loved the sport, he found himself going less and less. So he sold both of our bikes and we were bikeless.

Last spring Zac decided he wanted to try mountain biking. He bought a bike off of Craig's List and started going. He fixed up my old Specialized from high school and I went out a few times with him. It didn't take long until we both realized that we enjoyed the sport and we both needed new bikes. We found a screaming good deal on a Specialized for me...plus it's orange...it was meant to be. It has front suspension and disc brakes, that's all I cared about. Zac opted for a new 29er. We both love our bikes! Plus he was able to sell both of our old bikes on Craig's List.

Beautiful view of the City of Trees!

Zac and I

Going up Elephant Rock trail. It doesn't look steep but it is. In fact, I almost made it up the first time, but then tipped over. I was so close. Zac suggested I go back down to the bottom of the hill and try it again....so I did....this is round two of the hill and on the second time I made it up!

Zac up on Elephant Rock

And the epitome of my first crash on my new bike. I was doing great! We were on the downhill, I was screaming having so much fun when I got into some sand....I don't know if my front tire just got wobbly in the sand or if I accidentally put on the front brake, but regardless I crashed hard. I nailed my front handle bars and knocked the wind out of me, so I couldn't breathe and I was covered in dirt. When Zac picked up my bike, the front tire and handle bars made a 90 degree angle. I broke the back brake lever off, messed up the fork, handle bars are super lose, and the front tire wobbles. I did some pretty good damage. I'm super bummed! I'm hoping we can get it into a bike shop to get an idea of how much it will cost to repair it. Despite being pretty beat up (I fell hard), I have two bruises on my thigh (both the size of a softball), a bruise on my hip, my ribs hurt, both elbows are scraped up and I'm sore all over...I want to get my bike fixed and get back on the trails.

Staying Busy!

As our summer winds down...our weekends will start slowing down....more time here and less traveling. Zac starts the radiology program this week! Crazy, I know! We both know it is going to be strenuous, stressful and crazy busy! We are both gearing up for it. He took one last weekend getaway with the guys camping. I have been preparing freezer meals, trying to over prepare and get ahead for my school year, stock up on food and other items and sign up for everything I can to stay busy!

Our freezer is full. I have written a scope and sequence outline for the first grade curriculum. I have signed up for yoga and I'm officially on the volleyball team "We Could Carry Less," for the fall season...plus football starts in 21 days!

I'm excited for yoga...I'm doing some classes with some friends from my master's class. I'm super excited for volleyball! I haven't played since high school and ever since Zac played flag football last year I have wanted to get on a team. This year it's happening. Kirtley, her sister and some other friends make up the team and we are all ready for a great season! But I'm even more excited for Bronco Football! 21 days and counting until the season opener against Georgia. Which means only 20 days until our 10 year high school reunion!

Once Zac gets through this first semester, our life as we know will begin to get back to normal. So let the countdown begin!

Discovery Center

Bry had a 5-step day today....but it turned into a 6-step day!

Step 1--Flu Mist
Step 2--Pick up Emmy
Step 3-- Pick up Great Grandma
Step 4--Unplanned stop at the Dollar Store for Emmy (Grandma is painting a Bronco head on a piece of glass for me. I am so excited about it, I asked Grandma if she would paint one for my house and one for my classroom too!) So we knocked that stop out with some extra time we had...Bry was not so happy about the unexpected dollar store visit.
Step 5--(which should have been 4)--Discovery Center! First we played in the vet's office. I looked at all 24 xrays of various dogs, birds, cats and even a dinosaur (according to Bry). It was pretty interesting. Zayden put a leash on a tiger and took it for a walk, while Bry brushed a big bear. Then we were onto the grocery store...every kids' dream as a child is to be a checker at some point or another, and if it's not their dream, at least every kid plays "store" when they are younger. The pretend store is perfect for every kid. Both Bry and Z got their own shopping cart and started throwing in every item in the store. Monica got to check them out, Great Grandma watched with a smile on her face and I got the wonderful job of putting EVERYTHING back in the correct place! Next we headed to the bubble room. We listened to a story, blew some bubbles and even made some bubble art. I even made one to take back to my classroom. I think my first graders would love making bubble art on a beautiful day. After bubbles, we checked out a few exhibits. They still have my favorite, which happens to be a favorite of Bry and Z...the shadow box. We, Monica and Great Grandma included, piled into the shadow box to get a picture of our shadows. It was great. I tried taking a picture (I'm sure you're not supposed to) but it didn't turn out.
Step 6--(which should have been 5)--lunch at Flatbread...my favorite! Here's a good story. Bry apparently loves Subway (gross, I know)....well Monica told her there weren't any Subway's by Great Grandma's. Bry insisted there was. Funny that there is a Subway next to the Dollar Store, which was such a random and unplanned and unexpected stop. Of course, nothing gets past Bry and she saw Subway right away! Needless to say, Flatbread won and it was a great lunch!

After lunch, we reversed our steps...took Great Grandma back to her place, they dropped me off and then headed home. Thanks for such a great day! Besides having so much fun, the highlight of my day was having little Zayden as my buddy....besides him insisting he go with Bry and I to the bathroom....it was a crowded trip, he said my name for the first time today.




All smiles...Bry with Great Grandma!



Zayden, Bry and Great Grandma



Grandma had a great time! Look at her in the back with a big smile on her face! Bry and Z's paper plate bubble art!



Bry and Emmy with our bubble art necklaces!

What a great day!

Home Sweet Home-Hailey

Zac and I are trying to get in all of our last minute weekend getaways. Last weekend we headed up to Hailey for a fun filled weekend. Friday night we joined Mom and Cam for the gallery walk up in Ketchum. We enjoyed some good wine, good art and good company. We ran into some high school friends and even a high school teacher. Then we were off to meet up with Beth, Krista and Ryan for a drink and some dinner in Hailey. It was fun seeing old friends and catching up. We reminisced about old memories and started to get excited about our 10 year high school reunion coming up! We called it a night early and rejoined Mom and Cam on the deck for some wine, the heater and the bugling elk.

Saturday we headed up north of town for a bike ride. Mom and Cam were on their tandem, Zac on his new "29-er" and me on my new bright orange Specialized....we both love our new bikes. We opted for a shorter ride because the weather was looking pretty promising for a thunderstorm. We parked at Owl Creek. Our plan was to ride to Galena Lodge on the Harriman Trail, have lunch and then ride back. It was a great adventure.




We started out by having to wade across the river....it was cold. We waded in our flip flops and then stashed them on the other side, changed our shoes and were on our way. Just as we got to the other side of the river (before we even had a chance to change our shoes) it started pouring! Luckily it was warm, but the rain was coming down hard.

My favorite memories of the ride (in no particular order) are as follows:

• We finally got going and on the first corner (just getting onto the trail) Mom and Cam got into some gravel, lost their traction and fell over....it all happened in slow motion!


• Going up a hill, I was following Mom and Cam and saw one of Mom's shoe's pop out of the pedal, so she popped out the other (I can't blame her, I'm sure it's not easy pedaling with only one foot), she stuck both of her legs out to avoid getting whacked with a pedal and unbeknownst to Cam, he did all of the pedaling up the hill!


• We were going down a pretty steep hill...again I was following Mom and Cam and they cruised down it, so I pushed myself and went as fast as I could (I can't believe I didn't poop my pants)....Low and behold, when we came to a stop....Mom and Cam admitted their breaks were on all the way, they weren't slowing down and they both were expecting the worst....a crash landing! Good thing I pushed myself past my limits and nearly out of control!


• Rain running down my helmet, off my nose and down my cheeks for the entire ride!


• Getting to Galena Lodge just as the rain stopped so we could sit out on the deck.


• Zac finding a bubble in the tube of the tire of the tandem.


• The tire popping during lunch.


• Mom and I sat at Galena and drank coffee and Kahlua to warm up while Zac and Cam (on my bike) rode back to the truck.


• This was the first ride I was back with Mom and Cam on their tandem and me on my bike, since the San Juan Islands....it brought back a lot of memories!


• It was a lot of fun!

Sunday we headed in for church, met up with Bruce, Karen and the kids, had a java after church and they joined us out at the house for homemade cinnamon rolls.

Sunday afternoon we headed out for a BEAUTIFUL hike. It was only supposed to be a couple of miles, but like the energizer bunny, our ring leader kept on going, and going and going....6 miles later we made it back to the truck. It wouldn't have been so bad if we hadn't eaten cabbage and lettuce for lunch and we weren't hiking "alone"....all because the Ketchum Art Fair really wasn't last weekend! Hahaha! However, the dogs loved every minute of it and we got some gorgeous views. Beautiful hikes....one of the many reasons I miss home and would love to move back.

Zac


Cam and Rockee

Mom

Home Sweet Home...no place like it!

The dogs running free!

Monday morning we packed up and headed home. Grandma rode back with us and it was great having her company!

Remmy's Healing

Keeping our fingers crossed that Remmy continues to heal. We are a week post surgery operation and we haven't had any more vet visits (besides the day after when Remmy broke open the incision and he had to be put on antibiotics)....knock on wood that was our only visit until the stitches come out! He seems to be doing a lot better, acting more like himself and he appears to be in less pain. He's off of the Rimadyl and almost finished with the antibiotics. He wants to play but we have been keeping him and Rio low key to prevent the incision from breaking open again.

We are now battling Remmy's leg. He has obsessively been licking his leg where it was shaved for the IV. We have just been keeping an eye on him when we're home to keep him from licking, but when we are gone we have wrapped his leg with vet wrap....which didn't really work. We would return home to find the vet wrap on his ankle rather than on the middle of his leg over the shaved part. To give Remmy credit, he is pretty good at getting the wrap down....it was always still wrapped, not wet and not gathered. Somehow he could get it about two inches lower down on his leg, just far enough for him to continue licking the shaved part of his leg. I wish I was a fly on the wall to see him work his magic. Zac and I outsmarted Remmy though...we still are using the vet wrap but now we are wrapping his entire leg. We've left the wrap on for a day now and hopefully the hair is growing back enough that Remmy will stop the licking!

We're hoping he'll be well enough to go on a weekend getaway this weekend and upon return he should be able to get his stitches out! Still coughing down the $600 dollar vet bill for two optional procedures....but we love our Remmy dog and want him to be as healthy as possible!

Remmy's Vet Visit

Well, I think we can finally join the club of those who have spent a god awful amount of money at the vet! It's good to know there are other people out there who can share the pain (Jonathan and Anna, Mike and Nicole and Alyssa and Chris). The past three vet visits for the dogs' annual exam, the vet has recommended that Remmy have his teeth cleaned. This past spring we noticed a lump on Remmy's neck. So at their annual visit, the vet checked it out and did a quick biopsy. Fortunately, it was just a sebaceous cyst...nothing to get worked up or worried about. However, with that said, the vet said if it didn't go away or get smaller they could remove it. (Hence the word "could" I wish we would have known it was more of an option, rather than a necessity). She made it sound like it would be a quick and simple procedure though. And once again she recommended Remmy have his teeth cleaned.

So, being the good dog owners that we are, we made the appointment for his teeth to get cleaned and to have his lump removed at the same time since he had to be put under anyway. We got a quote for the teeth cleaning (which quotes are never accurate....you get nickeled and dimed every way you can and they never include all of the optional costs in the quote anyway...like the $70 blood draw to make sure your dog is healthy enough to go under anesthesia....the "optional costs" that if you love and care for your dog you'll do without thinking twice....aren't really optional). I also made the mistake of not getting a quote on the removal of the lump. But to give myself credit the vet did make it sound like it would be a little incision to suck out the juice and then he'd be done with. It would be an easy operation since he was already under.

We are now $600 in, two vet visits in the past 3 days, antibiotics, rimadly, cortizone cream and Remmy has an 1 1/2 inch incision on his neck, a 4x4 inch square shaved on the top of his neck, wiry stitches and a 2x3 rectangular patch shaved on his leg where his IV went. He is taking 3 1/2 pills a day for inflammation and to nip the infection. And while he seems pretty normal, we have to keep him and Rio from playing to avoid breaking open the incision. He also shouldn't roll, scratch or shake....but he is a dog and does all three of those on a daily basis. His collar gets in the way and his shaved skin is irritating so we're applying cortizone cream. Aside from all of those details, Remmy's doing well and has very clean, white teeth, but needs supervision to keep him from scratching open the incision and licking his leg raw (needless to say the house is clean, the lawn is cut, all of the laundry is done and I'm all caught up on my blog, AND I am beginning to go stir crazy). Supplying we don't have to go to the vet for any more unforeseen reasons, we will go back in a couple of weeks to get the stitches removed.

I will keep you posted!

Baby Kingston Arrived--7/12/11

Baby Kingston arrived early. Zac and I were up in Challis, I didn't have great cell phone reception so I just turned my phone off and checked it every couple of days. One day we got back from being on the river and I had a message from Mom....Baby Time! How exciting! Kingston James Leatham arrived on July 12, 2011, (which also happens to be Kellen Moore's birthday). While Kingston will never quite understand who Kellen Moore is/was, his Auntie Em is pretty excited for him! You never know, maybe Kingston will follow in Kellen's shoes and be an incredibly smart guy and an incredibly great quarterback!

Zac and I didn't get to visit Kingston in the hospital, but we did go straight over to Jonathan and Anna's the day we got back. He's a cute little guy...super precious and almost makes me wish for my own! Some day....

Jonathan and Anna seemed to be doing well and are smitten with their new bundle of joy!



Mommy and Kingston



Daddy and Kingston

Auntie Em and Uncle Zac with Kingston

Challis--Summer 2011--Annual Salmon Fishing

We headed up to Challis in the middle of July for our annual salmon fishing! Unfortunately, no one caught any salmon, but of course we had a great time! We went for daily walks/runs, did some hiking, yard games and relaxed the days we weren't on the river fishing.



Our family of four!

Pretty view of a waterfall going over Trail Creek.

Sherry, Em and Chels

Brotherly love...Zac and Jesse hanging out by the fire!

Kyle, Kip and Zac...on the river!

I'm holding on for dear life before heading into the "gorge," life jacket on, butterflies in my stomach! I survived the gorge two times! The second time was a little scarier for me. The water had gone down some, which meant the "waves" were a little bigger and on the last section Kip had an "oar blow out," which meant that we went right through the middle, rather than staying on the side! It was scary for me! But I survived to blog it!

Our trip wouldn't be complete without a good story to tell...remember last year, Kip tried sinking the boat before we even got in. This year there's yet another good story and it doesn't involve hooking, landing or eating an amazingly huge salmon. We stopped at Colston to see Roger, Jerry, Kyle, Debbie and Randy and to see how they were doing and whether or not they had had any luck. Good thing we stopped (or maybe it wasn't), a huge thunderstorm came through with a lot of rain an even some marble sized hail. I don't know exactly what happened to explain it correctly, but what I do know is that Roger said something like "who's boat is that floating by?" And the next thing I remember is Kip running down the bank and everyone jumping in vehicles to go down river. Yes, Kip Fry, amazing fishing guide, helplessly watched as his boat went floating down the river without anyone in it! So, Kip, calm as can be, jumped in his dad's boat with a motor and cruised down the river until he caught up to his boat. Eventually, he was able to get both boats to the bank, Roger loaded up his boat and Jesse, Zac and I jumped in the boat with Kip and continued our float like nothing had even happened. Once it was all said and done with, it made for a great conversation an some good laughs. It was also pretty comical to see all of the passerby's stop along the highway and watch the boat floating down the river personless!

Luckily, just as everything turned out fine when Kip tried sinking his boat, everything turned out okay this time around also! It's turning out to be an annual pattern of a "good story to tell" each salmon fishing trip. I'm scared to find out what next summer will bring!

The calm before the storm....who knew what the day's floating trip had in store for us that day!

Beautiful view of the White Clouds hiking up Slate Creek.

Sherry, Zac and Emily hiking up Slate Creek. Unfortunately, we never made it to the lake we were aimlessly wandering for or the "Great Wall of China," but it was a beautiful day for a beautiful hike with beautiful views.

Most nights we found ourselves enjoying a beer or two, (red beer for me) while playing frisbee golf, croquet, trying to catch water balloons and listening to stories told by Kip Fry. A few nights after the sun went down, we had a fire and roasted marshmallows for smores and enjoyed some biscuits with honey. One night someone had the wonderful idea of launching water balloons straight up into the air for fun, hoping the water balloon didn't land straight on your head. It should be noted, it was dark so even if you tried to look up and follow the balloon, you couldn't see it, so instead you stood the chance of the balloon landing straight on your face. I had a lucky shot of straight up and straight down into the fire pit, all the while Sherry and Debbie were roasting bread. A plume of smoke and steam filled the air and the fire was nearly put out, but when it all settled, Sherry and Debbie were still cooking their bread.

Overall, it was a great trip. We had some great walks and hikes, beautiful weather, some amazing thunderstorms, good fishing stories, and as always great company!