Happy 6th Birthday Cassie..& more

 Cassie is 6.. it is so hard to believe she is that old. here are some pictures of her Birthday celebration. I forgot my camera so these were taken on my phone. they are not the best but you get the idea. :)

 I made the nutty mistake of giving a friend's daughter make-up.. I was repaid that favor. Cassie is thrilled.. me, not so much! :)

 Cassie enjoyed her birthday. She loves all the attention she got today. I think it added to the fun when she was at church and she could tell everyone it was her birthday. She got lots of hugs, high fives, and was sang to many times... which she loved!!

ALSO...

Every year they do a safety fair here in Moscow and have some really fun things to do, all of it is free. One of the activities was the climbing wall. it was about two stories tall. Hannah, Cassie and Emy all climbed the wall.

 Hannah climbed about 8 feet up. She is so brave. She wants to do everything, and shows no signs of fear. I guess when you have gone through so much you have to be pretty tough.. she is!

 Cassie was not about to be shown up by Hannah and climbed about 10 feet. She is a tough cookie. After climbing she told me that she was amazing, I would have to agree :)

Emeline made it to the top. she said it was kind of wobbly but that this wall was so much easier than the ones we climbed for her birthday. She got to the top and pushed the alarm... 

that's my girls! 

Micah decided his time was better spent getting all the signatures of the Vandal Football players. :) 

there will be more pictures of Adventures and Birthdays to come so stay tuned!!!

Tonsils and Adenoids.. Emy's adventure

 Emeline right after waking up...

 Emy's tummy was upset and being so tired we stayed just a little longer at the hospital until she was feeling a bit better.

After many throat infections in the last few months the ENT decided Emy's tonsils and adenoids need to be removed. they were taken out this past Friday and she was a champ. she is doing well at this point, nothing abnormal. she is sore and swollen and loved the excuse to have lots of Popsicles... here are a couple pic in recovery...

Happy 9th Birthday Emy!!

 Happy Birthday Miss Emeline!!

 We had friends over on her birthday for cake and ice cream... and then of course the presents!

 Emeline's new best friend Anne.

 For Emeline's party she wanted to go rock climbing. the University has a climbing area and on the weekend they have a children's climb. She picked her best friend to go with her and we learned to rock climb. I learned to balle' and she was a natural climber!!

 This is about two stories or so up, she even tried the large rock that goes several stories.. but the pegs were to far spaced.. it was so much fun!

 I am not sure where the time has gone but she has gotten so big and is becoming such an amazing young women. She is a kind, loving girl with a dear heart.

this is probably one of my most favorite pictures of her.. it just showed her spirit so well!!

Well that was March.. Easter is just around the corner and we are starting to think that spring is actually coming to Moscow!

Random stuff...

Cassie and her self portrait..

Emeline did such a good job on this paper mache' of the earth for her class..

my ham :)

they really do love each other.. I promise :)

this is Remmy's favorite place to be when the sun is out... 

Besides being sick with this and that.. things here are moving along. Emeline turns 9 next week and she is so very excited. I do not feel old enough to have such old children :) We have our spring break and are planing on doing fun things around Moscow. I am hopeful that it will not snow and maybe we can go on a short hike somewhere close. School is going well for me and the kids. My classes are more of a challenge this semester but Trent has been great with helping out and I am so grateful for that. Emeline has found a book series that she likes and is enjoying reading for the first time, we are so excited! Cassie has decided she wanted to read and is taking off.. her teacher is amazed with how far she has come. Hannah is doing well. her surgery was a HUGE success. she is using her inhaler half as much as before and has not had pneumonia again since before the surgery.. which is a BIG step in the right direction. She has also been sleeping through the night ever since the surgery.. I love it!! It is amazing what happens when she is not choking on her stomach content all night. We are looking forward to seeing her grow now that she can keep her food down :) Micah is starting to test the waters in babysitting. Once a week I go upstairs and do my school work and he takes care of the kids. He does such a great job and I am excited for the first time that he can watch the kids so we can go out on a date. :) 

well that is life in a nut shell. hope all is well everywhere else. We are counting down the weeks until summer is here and we can go camping..

Cheer!!!

Emeline and Cassie love to dance and do gymnastics.. so I sighed them up for a three day after-school cheer camp.. they loved it!! I think I have a couple naturals. Don't worry Linsey.. Emeline wants to try volleyball next year :)

Cassie is in the left front, behind the cheerleader off and on. Emeline is in the back right and is the farthest lift, she was part of the base.. she loved it!

she is a bit of a cheese.. I think I have a little actress on my hands! she is posing here!

not the best picture but you can see Cassie night next to the front left cheerleader and Emy is in the back right.

the snow came back.. It was so pretty, but it does not make me any less jealous when my sister in law posts pictures of them in the sun down in Arizona :)

IN a nut shell...

We had such a great time at Grandma and Grandpa's house for Christmas this year, Ashtynn got along great with our kids. we love cousins!

not too early in the morning.. and everyone was happy with what they got, that does not happen often!

these two girls were great together, like they were best friends :) I loved it!

waiting for dinner..

Remmy, he is our newest family member. we got him for Christmas, he was by far the best gift we got!

gotta love ball

our little climber, even with snow boats on :) she reached the top many times!

Climbing a rock with snow boots, not our greatest moment but both kids did it!

Hannah had her Nissin Procedure and it went so well. She recover fast and is back to her active little self minus the barfing and reflux. I am so very happy to say that for the first time in months Hannah is now sleeping through the night ( because she is no longer choking on her regurgitation) she is on a soft food diet for the next few weeks and hates it! I still have to say I am very happy with the results thus far...

bless the Ipad.. it saved us while Hannah was in the hospital, she felt good the next day after the surgery but could not go home right away... 

That was our last month in a nut shell. we had a great time and enjoyed seeing everyone. School has started for everyone but Hannah and she is more than ready to go, just a few more days! Cassie, in particular is very excited for the Crook Family Reunion this year, she can not wait to see Brent again. I am not sure what you did Brent but you made a new best friend in less than 2 hours :) I wish I had pictures of Cassie snuggling you :)

a moment for a Hannah update

I took Hannah to see the pediatric surgeon in Spokane yesterday and we are going to go ahead and do the surgery to fix her reflex. The procedure is called "Nissen fundoplication". the hope is that it will help stop her from refluxing and give her lungs the chance they need to get a bit stronger. There is always the chance that it will not change anything and we will just have to continue to deal with it all but the success rate is 80% it will work and for that, I am willing to try it. Hannah surgery is scheduled for January 7, 2011. a few days after we return from our winter vacation in eastern Idaho. We have a great surgeon and I feel confident that this will help her. we have chosen to wait until after the holidays because it is recommended that Hannah stick to a very soft diet the first month after the surgery, I do not want to sadden her holiday eating of goodies so we will fit it in before school starts for me. She will be at Providence Children's Hospital in Spokane Washington (formally know as sacred heart) for two or three days.
we are all very excited to be heading to Idaho Falls in just a few days. We hope we can see everyone that is in town and lives around there during our stay!!