Back to School

The kids both started school last week. It's hard to believe summer is over, and it's time to get back into our school routine. McKenna & Blake have really enjoyed their summer of traveling, camping, swimming,and most of all, sleeping in. :) They have however, been anxious to get back to school as they both LOVE learning!

McKenna started 5th grade. This seems crazy to me! Am I old enough to have a 5th grader?

Blake is our 3rd grader this year. Yikes! It seems like just yesterday...I was sending him off to Kindergarten.

Twin Falls Temple...

Yesterday we drove down and spent the afternoon in Twin Falls, attending the temple open house.

This was taken in front of the temple. After we went on the tour, we spent time wandering the temple grounds enjoying all the fountains and flowers.

The kids were so excited to go inside, as this was the first time either one of them had been into a temple. I got this picture as we were walking around to the front side of the building to go in. They were both truly mesmerized.

I got this picture of Steve & Blake. There is a new sub division going in right next to the temple. The house you see in the background is so close. Literally looks like it's in the backyard. The kids thought it was cool, and commented on how great it would be to live that close to the temple. :)

I'm so glad we took the time to go down and enjoy the temple. Really, I must give all the credit to the kids for planning this one. Things have been so busy for us it seems lately with traveling, getting read for school, etc. but they have been consistently asking for several weeks now if we could go.....And we are so glad they did. It was a special day for all of us, and one the kids will never forget!

It's Been a Year for Blake!

As most of you are aware, we had quite a BIG scare with Blake just over a year ago. He was hospitalized for a week with influenza A as well as his asthma, which we have known he has had for quite some time, just never really knew the extent of it. After dealing with the Pediatrician for several years, we were refereed to an Asthma & Allergy specialist, who has since become a good friend of Blake's. We had a series of tests done after Blake was well and out of the hospital. Out of the 114 things he was tested for, 87 of them came back positive. WOW! This includes most everything outdoors, most pets, and a few food items.We immediately started "shot therapy" each week. He has gone twice a week now for the past year for shots, as well as a regiment of medications both morning and night here at home. After all this, I'm proud to say- He's doing fabulous! He even managed to get PERFECT attendance this last year at school and was soooo excited. He used to miss several days of school a year do to allergies & asthma, so for him it was a HUGE accomplishment.

This is one of the breathing tests Blake does periodically when we go in for shots. It helps to know how much oxygen his body is getting.

I can tell you, this was NOT a fun adventure for the first few months. Who likes shots? Not to mention, 2 shots in each arm, twice a week. OUCH!

Blake always says the "right" arm hurts worse. I guess that is the arm they put all the "animal" allergens, so it tends to burn and sting quite a bit more.

Needless to say, he has been such a trooper! He used to not like Laurie, the Nurse as she was the one always poking at him, but as time has gone on, he has seen the difference in the quality of his life and he appreciates her helping him to feel better. He doesn't even seem to mind the shots these days. Just walks right in like he knows what he is doing. Way to go Blake! Our plan is to continue treatment for the next four years and evaluate him at that point. We have recently dropped down to going in once a week, and our hope is to get into a once a month schedule. Time will tell....but in the meantime, Blake still remains to be our little HERO!