Dad's surgery-Triple Bypass!

Mom and Dad before Surgery.

Dad being prepped for Surgery!

Gotta love him!

They aren't nervous, well maybe a little:)

Trying to get some work done before the big surgery!

My dad has been having chest pain for the last couple of weeks and he went to the doctor and had some blood work done. The blood work came back elevated, so they had a chemical stress test ordered . That also didn't go so well. So on Wed, of last week Dad went in for an Angiogram. A couple hours later I recieved a frantic call from mom saying that they were taking dad by ambulance to another hospital in Des Moines that is considered the Heart Specialty hospital. We were then told that Dad would be undergoing a Triple Bypass. Which is a open heart surgery. Needless to say we were freaked out. My dad is 53. And this seemed way to much! On thursday he underwent the surgery, Dr. Pandhakar performed it. They harvested a vein from his right leg, left arm and used one from his chest. They then rerouted his arteries and closed him up. The surgeon said everything went very well. We then got moved to ICU. My mom wouldn't leave my dad's side and needed to sleep, so I stayed at night so she could go sleep in the waiting room, since they wouldn't let us sleep in the room with dad. For 2 days I ran on 2 hours of sleep. Now I remember why I don't work the night shift anymore. But I did get some major reading in:) Dad then got moved to Cardiac/Telementry unit and has steadily made progress. He will be coming home tomorrow. Yeah! I never want to go through that again. It's amazing how you look at life and the things that are the most important to you are relized when a person's mortality is at stake. I love my dad and am so glad that he is in my life!

Pumpkin Patch and the Corn Maze!

The hay ride, except it was dark!

This is the actual corn maze. It was awesome!

Saturday was a busy day for us, we also attended the Geisler Farm Pumpkin Patch with our ward singles group. The kids ran looking at pumlins or getting pulled in the wagon by "uncle Levi". We also did the corn maze that was incredibly hard. At one point Mckenzie and I got lost, she thought it was great fun, running around in the mud. Riley on the hand didn't like it so much once it got dark and he started to slip and slide in the mud. So "uncle" Levi carried him, until Riley got so scared and he peed on him. Levi took it very nicely, his girlfriend Nicole thought it was a great deterant, oops! We finally made it safely out, some a little drier than the rest. Hot Chocolate and Apple Cider was bought and then we went on the hay ride through the dark. Better watch out for those corndogs, they'll get ya! I'm pretty sure I have been banned form attending any more singles activites with my kids but we had a good time!

Disney LIVE!

Cinderella- I actually teared up when she sang the "the wish" song!

Buzz and I love these martians...

Tigger-bounce baby bounce!

Mickey Mobile-coolest car ever:)

Riley and his $8 drink!

Mckenzie or Tigger, could be the same!

Riley is saying, I'm #1!

Saturday the kids and I attended Disney LIVE! in Des Moines. The kids really enjoyed it. I was a little nervous about Mckenzie since we are in the "can't stand still" stage but she did pretty well. They really enjoyed the music and characters.

Home sweet home-our new place!

As of Nov 1st the kids and I will be on our own. We will be renting a 3 story-2 bedroom duplex in Huxley, which is only about 3 mins away from my parents. It has a pretty decent basement that is going to become the kids playroom. It also has a shower and the laundry room. Then is the main floor that is kitchen, living room and half bathroom. Upstairs contains the 2 bedrooms and full bathroom(tub only). It has a huge backyard and decent front yard. I am pretty excited that we get to take this on, if not feeling slightly insane. It will need some work, but I think it will nicely for the kids and I. I'm grateful I was able to stumble on it, because it allows Riley to stay in the same school district.

Bowling and Pool!

Stix-Pool!

Ankeny Lanes...

Last night I went out with my friend Jim, aka Jimmy to me! We went bowling, he used to be on a league and is actually a certified bowling coach. So he felt that it was his duty to help me out a little bit. My game is a little off! But by the 3rd game I was doing much better. I told him I was good on the Wii but I guess that doesn't count. He set the game up so I could achieve a 7/10 split, which is pretty much an impossible strike but I got it in! Of course I am leaving out that he went and stopped the game, went down the lane, and then proceeded to knock all the pins down except for the 7 and 10 spots. Then he set a bowling ball between them. I then took aim for the gutter with all my strength, which wasn't hard since the gutter and I are BFF's now. And presto I hit both pins! Yeah!!! I even got some cheers from the other people that were playing. Thanks Jim, a once in a life time expierence I'm sure. Then we headed out to play some pool. I got my mojo back pretty quick with that game. Smaller spaces are better for me. And cleaned the table at least once. All in all it was a fun night and I enjoyed myself. Friends are good to have!

CenterGroveOrchard-2009

Giant trampoline...

Safe in the brick house-3 little pigs!

John Deere poster child-tractor races!

Mommy and Mckenzie-corn pit!

The corn pit!

For the last 4 years we have followed a family tradtion by going to the Center Grove Orchard in Cambridge, Iowa. It is a wonderful place to take the kids and only gets better as the years have gone by. They keep adding things to it every year and we have so much fun. We usually go a least twice in the fall. Mckenzie was just a baby last year. So this year was a lot more fun to watch as they ran around this farm. They have animals-horses, pigs, goats, chickens and elk that they raise. The 3 little pigs houses-straw, twigs and bricks(Riley really enjoys that part.) The corn pit, the giant trampaline, tractor races, tractor rides., pumpkins, apples. And then they have yummy food-cider donuts, apple cider, fudge, soups.,etc. We have a great time. More information can be found at http://www.centergroveorchard.com/ .

Trouble with Teachers....

I'm a little surprised by this weeks e-mail from Riley's school teacher. I typically get a weekly e-mail regarding how he is doing since he is considered "special" since he has an IEP(Individual Education Plan). This is due to his language delay. He has made huge strides in his speech and comprehension. But this week it was about his behavior. He has been, as the teacher regarded it "defiant"! What! Are we talking about my kid? Sweet innocent Riley? Yes, it has come to pass my mother says, he truly is my child... So she basically tells me, the teacher, that Riley refuses to do what she asks. He has an another agenda. Not sure what that means. He's five. So I tried to let my bristles go down before I respond to her e-mail , asking her to explain the situations that he is being defiant. And ask her what she is doing or wanting us to do to help the day go easier. Because honestly , he does pretty well at home. He's usually very helpful and follows my directions. So I'm not seeing the picture she is relaying. Also, she says he's been in the nurses office alot. Well, that is true. I have had 5 nurse visit slips in one month. 2 incidents were on the same day. So my kid is slightly accident prone, nothing new there. So I responded by saying, if he's not bleeding don't let him go. Brush him off and continue with the day. I haven't received a reply yet. Kind of scared to. Do you think I'm taking this wrong?