I have a bunch of photos to update for this super busy month.

We attended a fund raiser car show for HopeKids.

Food trucks and really expensive cars made for a nice afternoon out.

The boys were more interested in playing with the hotwheels they got at check-in.

There was a big variety of interesting vehicles

If we could afford a “mid-life crisis car”, this is what Bill would pick!

Enough chrome?

This car was actually a metallic ruby red color

We all loved the paint job on this one

These car owners are also some of HopeKids’ biggest donors, so we appreciated the event.

One day, the boys really wanted to “do some science” so we had to try the diet coke and mentos combination.

You have to put in a lot at once for the best reaction

boom!

We made it through two solid weeks of Intensive Feeding Therapy and Brendan was doing very well. He is making great progress, even if it is slow. Then Trevor picked up a nasty virus at school and had some bad croup attacks in the night for a few days. Once he was about over it, Brendan got it. He was scary sick for 10 days and is just now feeling better. He fought the virus but ended up with a sinus/double ear infection. He is still finishing his antibiotics and is still on oxygen. Now we are seeing if he can pick up where he left off in eating. He missed a whole week.

This week, we are being visited by Aunt Beth and Uncle Steve. They have escaped the IL cold to hang out in AZ (and play with electronics sets)

The boys are lounging on their uncle and trying to teach him how to play minecraft.

Beth and Trevor played pillow toss for at least an hour!

Today, Trevor had another tip test. He went through his stations demonstrating his techniques.

Trevor knows his moves pretty well, but in the super busy gym where they are testing so many kids, he freezes up. He has a hard time focusing.

He earned the tip on his belt, but he was told he needs to do a lot of practice before his belt test. He says he is serious about ninja school and he will practice really hard.

My brain is still feeling foggy after such a busy and stressful month. I hope February is kind to us.

I had a couple of pictures in my phone from earlier this month. Trevor had a test and earned his red “tip” on his white-stripe yellow belt. He will need to earn the black tip before he will be eligible to test for his black-stripe yellow belt. He is making improvements in his coordination and strength. We are proud!

Brendan wanted me to take this picture of the ship we all made together at the LegoLand Discovery Center.

We squeaked in a trip to ZooLights right before it was about to end, and then found out it was extended another week. We are still glad to go. It is fun to see what they change every year.

Brendan saw the cardiologist on Wednesday. He had an EKG and an Echo and did such a great job. Not one tear, not even a frown! He was awesome. The doctor ordered Brendan’s heart cath procedure to be scheduled. It will be done sometime in the next few months. They will thread the catheter from his thigh in to his heart to take measurements of the pressure and circulation. They will also thread through his neck into the “Glenn Circuit” to measure the pressure in his pulmonary arteries and his lungs. This is crucial to preparing for his final heart surgery.
If his lungs are ready, the plan is to go forward with the surgery this summer.

Brendan starts the Intensive Feeding Program on Monday. We will be driving to the Children’s Hospital five days a week for 1-3hrs of therapy each day. That goes on for five weeks, then we transition to 2 times a week for three weeks and then once a week for two weeks. It will be a challenge.

Once he is done with Intensive Feeding, he should be starting to attend some preschool classes at the school instead of at home. Our calendar has never been so full. We managed to squeeze in another month of swimming for Trevor too. He loves it so much.

If you don’t hear from me much, I apologize. I haven’t been great at returning messages, I need to get caught up!

Happy 2017!!

We made this picture tonight in the front yard. It is a 10 second exposure. Bill was flipping and spinning with his Jedi skills making the blue and red light with the boys’ toy lightsabers. I was writing the numbers with a small flashlight. The boys did their best to not move for 10 whole seconds! All things considered, I love it! Happy new year!

We had a big adventure today. So much was closed today but the forest was open! We went up to the Mogollon Rim (nearly 8000ft elevation) to find snow! (we found fog too)

I can’t take credit for this snowman. He is awesome and was built by a family that was leaving right as we arrived.

That family also smoothed out a sledding hill. How thoughtful! We were on the way.

It looked like a perfect spot, it even had a little jump.

There was just too much snow to play with. It was absolutely perfect packing snow today.

This is the end for these snowsuits and boots. We just have to make them fit the rest of this season!

Mean mommy makes the boys stop for photos.

Mean daddy shakes the snow out of the tree on their head (as directed by mean mommy)

Brendan is eating snow.

nom nom nom

We started working on a fort but the elevation was getting to all of us, especially Brendan.

This is Vista Point where you can see a 3000ft drop on to a wide expanse of northern AZ.

It’s gone!

This is what a naturally flocked tree looks like 🙂

Trevor has his stick that looks like a pick axe.

We drove in to The Nothing

It consumed the forest too

This plus fog could be someone’s really bad day

Down a few thousand feet in elevation, all the snow melt is making the creeks run wild

The boys love to play by the water, but it was running so fast. We stayed until the sun was setting.

I had a few extra pictures on my camera from earlier in the week. Trevor has decided that he really loves climbing trees. 😀

We want to wish Malcolm a very happy first birthday! (26th) And Kieran a super 4th birthday! (today) I hope they are enjoying their cross country trip!