Livin' La Vida Lanphear

Dreams

2011-06-29T07:30:00.000-07:00

I dreamt about Jasmine last night. She was alive. A healthy baby girl. She was crying so I changed her diaper. All of the normal things that you do with a baby. It was wonderful, until I woke up. Now I'm sad. All of these years later, my arms still ache to hold my baby girl.

Haley

2011-05-14T18:57:00.000-07:00

We lost our dog Haley very unexpectedly on Thursday May 12. Tuesday night, when Paul went to put her in her kennel for bed, she was drooling and anxious, not wanting to go in her kennel. While it isn't normal, it also wasn't unheard of. She would sometimes get worked up about something outside and not want to come in.
Wednesday morning, she was standing up in her kennel, which is unusual, she normally would be lying down and not get up until we let her out. When Paul let her out, she was drenched in drool and wandered around in circles as if she was confused or something. I went over to pet her and she jumped, as if she was shocked that I went to touch her. We left the back door open and she eventually decided to go outside and was pacing the yard and acting confused.
Paul made an appointment and took her into the vet at 11:30. Her temperature was high, 106 and they wanted to keep her until the evening. However, they also said that she might need to be hospitalized over night and if that was needed, we would have to take her to another facility as they aren't equipped to handle overnighters. We decided that we would just go ahead and take her to a facility that could take her overnight as she didn't seem to be getting any better.
After Paul got her to the animal hospital and they took her back, she had a seizure. They gave her antiseizure and valium and had to stay overnight. We called to check on her and they said she was sleeping and hadn't had any more seizures. We were concerned, but cautiously optimistic.
Thursday morning, Paul went to pick her up at 8:00 as scheduled. She had been up and walking around and the vet said all of her vitals were good, all of the initial bloodwork tests came back good. He prescribed her antiseizure meds and was ready to send her home. Then she went to sleep and didn't want to wake up.
They decided to keep her for a couple of more hours and Paul went to run an errand. Within 20 minutes, the vet called and told him he needed to come back. He called me at work and I arranged for a sub and left. Haley was gone before either of us could make it back. Fortunately, Paul was able to spend time with her that morning, but we never expected we would have to say goodbye so soon.
They don't know what happened. They vet thinks Valley Fever spores may have gotten into her brain as the problem was obviously neurological, but we are still waiting for those test results. He said if those tests are negative, it is probably a brain tumor. I think maybe she was bitten by a black widow as we have them all over. She also had no symptoms of anything until Tuesday night and they came on so suddenly. Paul also said she was nipping at an area on her side. I don't think I've ever heard a cough from her, she was the healthiest dog ever!

Needless to say, we are heartbroken. We adopted Haley from the Arizona Animal Welfare League in the Spring of 2004. We wanted another dog and knew that we wanted to rescue a dog from a shelter, but we also knew that we wanted to stay away from breeds that were known for aggression. The shelters are overrun with pit bulls. Many of them seem like very nice dogs, but we couldn't risk it with the kids. We finally found the skinny black and white pointer that seemed perfect. We had to run home to get Princess to do a doggy introduction, but when we got back, another family was meeting her yard. We stuck around and the other family wasn't able to take her because they had a cat (Haley was not a fan of the felines!). We were able to get the 32 pound black and white pointer.
AAWL had rescued her from the pound where she was on the euthanasia list because she was deemed "reactive" in their temperment tests. Nothing could be further from the truth. Haley was great! She loved kids more than just about anything and was a wonderful companion for the boys. She never showed any aggression whatsoever towards us. She did get into an occassional tiff with Princess when Princess would try to eat her food, but that was it. She loved to be outside and would patrol the yard when we were out to make sure it was safe. She was a counter surfer and would quickly grab any food within reach whenever she could, but she very rarely did anything wrong.

We loved Haley very much and I'm certain we will never find another dog like her. While I'm glad she didn't suffer for too long, her time with us was much shorter than we thought it would be. We love you, Haley girl!

Loose tooth!

2011-03-07T19:28:00.002-07:00

Hunter discovered his first loose tooth today!

Poetry

2010-06-28T10:40:00.002-07:00

It's been a long time since I've posted and I've wanted to update on family life, but just don't have the time right now. Soon, I promise.

I came across this poem in another blog and want to share it:

To the Child in My Heart
C. Parrot

O precious, tiny, sweet little one
You will always be to me
So perfect, pure and innocent
Just as you were meant to be

We dreamed of you and of your life
And all that it would be
We waited and longed for you to come
And join our family

We never had the chance to play
To laugh, to rock, to wiggle
We long to hold you, touch you now
And listen to you giggle

I’ll always be your mother
He’ll always be your dad
You will always be our child
The child that we had

But now you’re gone…but yet you’re here
We sense you everywhere
You are our sorrow and our joy
There’s love in every tear

Just know our love goes deep and strong
We’ll forget you never
The child we had but never had
And yet will have forever.

Sweet 16

2009-11-09T19:54:00.002-07:00

It's hard to believe that it's been 16 years. Our precious little angel would be 16 today. We should be celebrating, having a sweet 16 party. Instead we continued our annual tradition of visiting our daughter at the cemetery on her birthday. We usually bring a stuffed toy, but we don't leave them anymore because the cemetery workers remove them. So we bring them home. We have a balloon release.

We try to make the best of it, but the best is so bad that "the best of it" is really an oxmoron. The pain is still so fresh. The memories can be so vivid that it's almost like I'm reliving those moments. The boys miss and love their sister so much. We all love and miss Jasmine so much.

Jedi Training Academy

2009-06-28T10:30:00.006-07:00

Dakota and Hunter are both huge Star Wars fans, so seeing the Jedi Training Academy was at the top of our list of things to do this year at Disneyland. Dakota did it two years ago, but Hunter hasn't seen it since he was young. The first time we tried, it got cancelled due to technical difficulties. This might seem bad, but to make up for it, they had the Jedis, Darth Vader and Darth Maul come out for pictures and autographs, which NEVER happens. We were lucky enough to have get in line quickly and meet all of the characters. Fortunately, the Disney Photo Pass photographers were on hand and took pictures, because ours were stolen by the previously mentioned craphead(s). Hunter was a bit nervous, especially with Darth Maul, but we managed to get him in the pictures.

We stuck around for the next session. No technical difficulties this time and both Dakota and Hunter were selected to participate. Of course, we had to tell the Jedi Master that Hunter was four, but it was just a tiny fib. Both of them battled Darth Vader, which is good, because I'm not sure Hunter could have handled Darth Maul! They were both brave Jedis and did a great job! They had a build your own lightsaber station at the shop outside of the Star Tours ride. I did have great pictures of them building their own Darth Maul (double sided) light sabers, but, well you already know... We now have something like 10 lightsabers at our house! I am so proud of my boys going up in front of all of those people and battling those scary guys!

Sometimes Bribery is the Best Option (or Potty Talk, Part Deux)

2009-06-23T18:53:00.004-07:00

Disclaimer: This picture is a recreation of the original that was lost when a big crap-head stole our stuff at Disneyland (the story was featured in a previous post).

We had an extra long Disneyland vacation this year. We bought annual passes and wanted to make sure that we were there long enough to get our moneys worth in case we couldn't make it back before the passes expire. We were originally going to stay for eight days, but due to the above mentioned crap-head(s), we stayed an additional day to try to recreate some of the photographs from the previous days.

This particular pose came about when we were in A Bug's Land at California Adventure, but was recreated in the line for Pirates of the Carribean. Hunter spied a cotton candy cart and decided he wanted some. Paul decided to make a deal with him. If he would poop, he could have cotton candy. Now, Hunter is going through the Freudian anal retentive stage of development, which also means that he is on a mission to never ever poop again. Not in Pull-Ups, not on a potty, so getting him to do it at all is a challenge. He has had his share of what he calls "butt medicine" followed by us forcing him to sit on the potty until it happens.

On this particular day, as soon as Paul told Hunter what he had to do to get the cotton candy, he was all for it. Hunter ran over to me and told me that he was going to get cotton candy when he pooped on the potty and proceeded to demonstrate for me how he would accomplish this miraculous feat! That would be the pose he is striking in the picture, how he poops on the potty. Paul then took Hunter into the restroom. Hunter came out telling me he "pooped a giant water bottle!" Apparently, that is what it looked like.

The bribery has continued since and I am amazed at how easily Hunter is able to perform for whatever it is that he wants. He pooped "two soccer balls" for a pirate sword, and another "giant water bottle" for something else. Hopefully, we won't be bribing him when he is a teenager, but for the time being, it works!

Bad Blogger

2009-06-13T14:22:00.004-07:00

I know I have been a bad blogger lately. I am slapping myself on the hand as I write this. I have been busy with school (my education that is), school (this reference is to my job) and vacation.

We had a great vacation in Disneyland until what was supposed to be our last day. We went on Splash Mountain at about 8:15 that evening. When we were almost on the ride, Paul asked me if I had the cameras, which in five years of going to Disneyland we have never forgotten to take with us. I did not. Neither did he. I tried to reassure myself that everything would be okay. The camera bag was covered up with our jackets and in FIVE YEARS of going to Disneyland, no one had ever messed with our stroller.

We got off the ride and the stroller was gone. After meeting with security and looking everywhere, they finally located our stroller in the restrooms by the New Orleans train station. Our cameras were gone. The souveniers we had just bought were gone. Even our soft sided cooler with water and our bag of snacks were gone! Our jackets and clothing were all that were left. They even took Hunter's pirate hook that Paul bought for him for $3 at Disneyland (which means that it would have cost about 75 cents in real life) and Dakota's $6 Nightmare Before Christmas back scratcher (approximately $1.75 in real life). Those weren't even in bags, they actually had to take them out of the seat of the stroller and put them in the bags! A few minutes later a security guard recovered our food and cooler at the restaurant around the corner.

We filed claims with lost and found and a police report. We learned that we were the third reported victims that evening, and another report was coming in as we were with the detective. Apparently a group of crapheads (we've called them much worse, but I'm trying to keep the blog family friendly) were going around the park and grabbing strollers, rolling them into a restroom and taking as much as they could. Of course, the ONE time I forgot the cameras in FIVE YEARS of going to Disneyland!

Two people were detained and there car was searched, but they were never able to turn up our cameras. They had the video and picture from the whole vacation as well as from when Dakota won the student of the quarter award at school. Fortunately, we had purchased annual passes, so we decided to stay an extra day to find out if our cameras turned up and to recreate some of our memories (we ran to Target and got a new camera). Unfortunately, we couldn't recreate when both Dakota and Hunter were picked to do the Jedi Training Academy and battled Darth Vader, or our trip to the Aquarium of the Pacific, but we did do lunch at Ariel's Grotto and got to meet 5 princesses and the boys learned how to bow and do a dance (it was really fun, even with boys).

We decided that we would purchase a CD of all of our Photo Pass pictures that they took so we could have some pictures of nine days at Disneyland. Paul explained to the clerk what had happened and wanted to know if we could get some photos replaced that we had purchased with vouchers, and were stolen with our other things. She made a phone call and Disney was kind enough to comp us the photo CD (which cost $60).

So, we did have a great vacation until our stuff was stolen. The lesson here is: don't forget to bring the camera on the ride. You can bet we won't forget again!

Best Friends

2009-03-25T19:55:00.003-07:00

I've been slacking in the blogging department recently, several visits from out-of-town family, work obligations and starting a new class (2nd to the last one!) have kept me busy.

Tonight Hunter came into the family room and out of the blue said "Kota is my best friend". Kota is of course Dakota. It was so sweet I almost cried. He really did this picture justice! They fight a lot, as most siblings do, and have been extra grouchy as of late, but they really do love each other. Dakota also likes to read to Hunter and tonight he willing gave up his seat at the dinner table to prevent a tantrum from Hunter. Not that he would have ended up banished to another room or something. Hunter has just decided that Dakota's spot is the best spot at our table. They are great kids!

Ordinary Girl

2009-02-22T19:32:00.002-07:00

I just finished my last assignment for my Research Design class, so I finally have some time to blog! I'm so relieved. It was a tough class and I only have two more to go.
A couple of weeks ago, on the week-end, Paul and I were awakened by Dakota singing very loudly. He loves to listen to his MP3 player and sing along to the songs. Only on this morning he wasn't just singing, he was serenading the dogs. He ran through a couple of Abba tunes and then I heard him say "Here's one you'll really like, Princess. It's about a girl like you", and he began singing Ordinary Girl by Greenday to her. It was just too cute!

We Rock!

2009-01-18T20:36:00.005-07:00

I think Paul has been secretly wanting to get Guitar Hero for himself, but won't admit it. He tried to convince Dakota to buy it with his Christmas money a couple of days after Christmas, but Dakota had never played it and wouldn't do it. Then we went to Amie and Bryan's for Steve's birthday. They got Guitar Hero for Christmas and our kids got a taste of the game and loved it.

Fast forward to today. Paul cashed in some credit card points and earned a Best Buy gift card, so today while I was making dinner he slipped out to Best Buy without the kids noticing. He came back with Guitar Hero World Tour, the full band edition! Dakota was on the couch playing Hunter's Leapster. Paul brought it in and sat it on the floor about 10 feet away from Dakota. He didn't even look up. It sat there for a good 15 minutes before Dakota finally noticed it. He started screaming, he was soooo excited!

So tonight we have been honing our rock star skills. We started out with some Beastie Boys, No Sleep Til Brooklyn. It didn't go well. We were booed off the stage. That was followed by REM, The One I Love, we went a bit longer before we got booed off. It's really a blast! Dakota sang the Linkin' Park song from Transformers, then Hunter sang the same song. Dakota did One Way or Another, by Blondie. Of course now they don't want to go to bed! When we finally got through a song, the game puts the words "You Rock" on the screen. Paul turned to Hunter and said, "You Rock!", and Hunter said, "I Rock!". Too cute!

The last picture is the first song. Hunter contributed by biting his toenails instead of singing. Lovely, huh? He did get into it after he took care of the toenail. Apparently we need to trim his toenails more frequently! The boy has priorities.

Christmas Day

2009-01-15T20:43:00.003-07:00

Winners for the most annoying toy: The Arnesons (my sister's family). They were kind enough to seek ou the most annoying toy they could possibly find and bestow it upon our child.

It's called a Yakkity Yak voice recorder. Seems innocent enough, but it is incredibly LOUD. Here is how it works: the child presses a button, it beeps loudly, something like a smoke detector whose batteries are getting low, the child says something into it, the device plays it back either very slow or very fast. Playing it back fast sounds something like the dolphin chatter effect from Spongebob Squarepants. This wouldn't be so bad if kids weren't so enthralled with the toy. They play it back over and over and over and over...

"Why", you might ask, "would someone want to punish you with this device?" Apparently when Steve was a baby, we bought him, (with no malicious intent) a baby keychain that made noises. An innocent baby toy! Really, I don't think it's just punishment.

And how do you get back at parents who willingly purchase drums for their kids? I don't think we could get revenge if we tried!

We had a wonderful and busy Christmas! We started out opening presents at home. So far, our kids have been really good about not getting us up early on Christmas morning. In fact, last year my parents called and woke us up. They had been sitting in the driveway waiting for us to get up so they could come in! This year, the kids slept until probably 7:30 and we called my parents when they woke up!

As usual, Santa kind of over did it with our kids. But they're great kids and have been pretty good. They both got lightsabers. I know, we already had five lightsabers, but Hunter told Santa he needed another and of course Dakota got one, too! They got the XBox that Dakota has been asking for along with a nice selection of games.

Santa even brought the dogs blankets for their kennels, despite the fact that last time we got them blankets, Princess ate them. Literally consumed them. So far so good, though. She hasn't tried to eat this one! And really, why should Haley suffer because Princess is insane?

After Christmas morning here, we went to Grandma and Grandpa Phipps' for more presents and Christmas dinner. Yummy ham, funeral potatoes, rolls, all the fixins. It was nice to see everyone. Dakota and Hunter were thrilled to see their cousins. Aidan gave Dakota and Hunter a small Cookie Monster snow globe. It was so sweet! With all of our different schedules, it's hard for us to get together!

After my parents, we made a quick stop home to unload and then headed to Paul's cousin Tim's house. Fortunately both my parents and Tim live within a few miles of us, so we didn't do much traveling. Paul's Aunt Carol and Uncle Pat were there as well as his parents and Robert. We spent some time visiting with them. They had food, too, but by that time I was stuffed!

We had a really wonderful Christmas. I'm so glad that we are able to spend it with our families.

Christmas Eve

2009-01-13T20:16:00.003-07:00

For Christmas Eve this year we had the grandparents and Robert come over for dinner, gingerbread houses and some present opening. Paul and I decided that this year we would let the grandparents help with the gingerbread houses since we've done it so many times. It somehow ended up in "teams", Hunter with Grandma and Grandpa Lanphear and Dakota with Grandma and Grandpa Phipps. I'm not sure who "won", but Dakota did at one point say something like "hurry, we're winning". Who knew decorating gingerbread houses would turn into a race? The grandparents did a great job. Kudos to Grandma Lanphear who perservered even after Paul (aka Lenny) squeezed the frosting bag so hard that it burst open at the seams! She managed to fashion a frosting bag by snipping the corner off of the green frosting bag. It was quite impressive!

The gingerbread houses were followed with opening presents from the Lanphear side. The boys got new Transformers pj's, Wall-E, Kung Fu Panda, some Tupperware ball popper thingamajigs, clothes, all kinds of toys... It was a great evening. We are so glad that we were able to spend it with our parents.

The Polar Express

2009-01-03T20:41:00.004-07:00

Snow Angels

Hot cocoa.

Waiting to get on the train.

The drive up.

We decided to take the kids on the Polar Express this year. For those of you who don't know, the Grand Canyon Railroad turns into the Polar Express during the winter and takes kids and their families to the North Pole, picks-up Santa and heads back to the depot in Williams.

It was us, Grandma and Grandpa Phipps, Grandma Lanphear and Uncle Robert. We all piled into my parents Suburban (the only 4WD vehicle owned by any of us) and headed north. We made reservations months in advance, so you don't really know what the weather is going to be like. It may have been a blizzard (I say "may have been" because I'm not really sure, I haven't lived in the snow since 1986, but it sure seemed like a blizzard to me!). My dad was generous in offering to take their vehicle and he drove the whole way as well. Thank goodness, because it was a bit treacherous! (Thanks, Dad).

I think we were all probably a little bit underdressed. Afterall, it NEVER snows here, and in the past 22 years, this was the third time we've been to the snow, so of course we don't have all of the gear (even if I lived in the snow, I think I would forgo the moonboots!). Maybe we're wimps because we've lived here for so long, or maybe it was because we just don't have the right clothes, but it was C-O-L-D! It actually wasn't so bad, except when the wind was blowing, which was a good portion of the time since it was a blizzard!

After we made it up to Williams, the kids played in the snow in the parking lot of our motel. They had a blast throwing snowballs at Dad. We had dinner at Denny's then headed over to the train depot. It was snowing and the wind was blowing AND, to top it all off, I slipped and fell in the snow. We waited inside for a while, but then headed outside to catch the train. Did I mention it was cold? Fortunately, the train was nice and warm. Ironically enough, we were given instructions on how to open the windows. Like we were going to open the windows!

Each car has its own chef and elf who entertain and serve hot cocoa and cookies. Our chef was Grant and our elf was Kaitlyn. Grant had a microphone and led us in games and Christmas carols. And by games I mean an "elf wave". He made the elf run up and down the aisle and everyone was supposed to do the wave, like at a football game. It was great fun! There was also a reading of The Polar Express.

When we got to the North Pole, Santa came on board. He goes through the cars and hands out silver bells to the kids. (Some of the grown-ups, too! I got one!) It was really a great experience. The kids were so excited. On the way back to the Suburban, I slipped AGAIN! But so did my mom and dad, so I didn't feel quite so bad.

Overnight, there was something like 12" of snow that fell and a lot of people were snowed into the parking lot. Fortunately, we weren't. The kids played in the snow a little more, made some snow angels, and threw more snowballs. We took great care to make sure that after the kids played in the snow, they had dry clothes on for the ride home. While we were finishing loading up, Hunter decided to make his way out to the car on his own. He blazed a brand new trail in his nice, dry clothes through fresh snow that was thigh deep on him. So much for changing him into warm, dry clothes for the ride home! Fortunately, it wasn't snowing on the way home.
We had such a wonderful time and we are so glad that my parents, Paul's mom and Robert were able to share it with us. Unfortunately, Paul's dad couldn't get off of work. Hopefully, if we do it again, he can be there, too!

Paul's Birthday

2009-01-02T20:48:00.004-07:00

On the Polar Express with Dakota

Us with Eli...probably mid 1990's.

Our wedding day, January 4, 1992. With Amie, maid of honor and Kevin, best man.

Us after Paul's high school graduation.

A birthday in high school.

With Tom.

One day old.

Paul's 36th birthday was on November 24. (I told you I was behind on my blogging!) We had a small get together for Paul and my dad, since their birthdays are only two days apart. Nothing fancy, just dinner, presents and cake. His mom put together a wonderful photo album for him. It is such a great gift! These are just a small sample of the photos. I plan to eventually scan all of them so they will be available to post for whatever whim I may have. He's been warned that any photo could show up in my blog! I have included a few pictures of Paul over the years here.

Hope you had a great birthday, hon! We love you!

Thomas Donald Lanphear Jr.

2008-12-30T15:00:00.003-07:00

I had wanted to do this post to remember Tom on his birthday, but I just haven't had time until now. As many of you know, Paul's brother Tom was killed in a car accident just over two years ago. He would have been 37 this year. It was a huge shock and a tragic loss. Tom was a really good person. Tom and Paul were very close in age and shared many experiences growing up. It was, and still is, so difficult for Paul. Paul has said that growing up, he can't remember very many times when he and Tom weren't together.
When Paul and I were dating we used to hang out with Tom fairly frequently. He and Paul would take their parents little Dodge Colt and come out to pick me up sometimes. Once when they picked me up, Paul was really upset with Tom because he has spilled a huge Slurpee while they were driving and it got on Paul, but not Tom. Tom was able to laugh at the situation (unlike his brother). We went to the first Lollapallooza with Tom, my sister Amie and her friend Sage. It was August in Phoenix at Compton Terrace. In other words, it was H-O-T hot! We had a blast anyway!
As time went on and we grew up and got jobs and whatnot, we didn't spend as much time together. We both really reget that we didn't spend more time together. Tom was such a wonderful person. One thing that we admire in Tom is that he was kind. He was always willing to help anyone. We miss him terribly.

Catching Up

2008-12-30T14:33:00.002-07:00

I know I've been slacking off on my blogging recently. I've been really busy... REALLY busy. In addition to all of the holiday preparations, my latest class, Research Design, began this month. It's a tough one, but after this class I only have 2 more to go and I'll have my M.Ed. Of course, I'll be expecting you all to join me in lovely Plymouth, NH for my commencement from Plymouth State University, which I believe will be in August. Just kidding! :) It does look like a lovely town, but I doubt I'll be going. I am very much looking forward to being done with school for a while. It seems like I've been taking classes forever!

So, I'm trying to get some blogging in that I've been meaning to do over the past month. I hope everyone has a great New Year!

Celine Dion

2008-12-07T17:08:00.004-07:00

Last night Paul and I took our moms to see Celine Dion. We planned it as a surprise. In fact, we bought tickets over a year ago! My mom figured it out a while ago, but Paul's mom was really surprised. When he told her we were going to Jobing.com Arena, she was excited because she thought we were going to a hockey game! After we got there, Paul finally told her.
We had great seats, 3rd row one the floor, but it was more like the second row because there was only one row of seats in front of us. Mohammed Ali was there, Celine introduced him, they shined the spotlight on him up on the club level, and he got a standing ovation. (Our seats were better than his!)
Now, I know many of you are thinking that I don't seem like a Ceine Dion fan. Generally, I listen to alternative music, not because it is labeled as alternative music, but because I like the way it sounds. The same holds true for Celine. I don't really care what genre her music is, she has great songs and an incredible voice.
That being said. Celine is an awesome performer. Her voice is just as good live as it is on studio recordings. She's very personable and really puts on a great show. This is actually the second time I've seen her, we saw her when she was in Vegas at Caesar's Palace as well. She sang most of my favorite songs, I Drove All Night, Because You Loved Me, To Love You More, a few covers, All By Myself, Alone (by Heart), and a few new songs. The only song she didn't sing that I wish she would have was A New Day.
Anyway, she puts on an incredible performance and we wanted to something special for our moms for Christmas to let them know how much we love and appreciate them. It was great to spend the evening with our mothers at such an amazing concert. I would have some pictures of us, but I forgot my camera!

Thanksgiving

2008-11-27T21:36:00.002-07:00

We went to Grandma and Grandpa Lanphear's for Thanksgiving dinner. It was fabulous! Lots of great food and good company! Of course, I forgot my camera, so I don't have any pictures to post of the fabulous feast. Needless to say, we all ate way too much. They boys each had two slices of pumpkin pie, although Hunter didn't have much to eat other than pie. Paul's cousing Jim figured out how to make fast friends with Hunter, Dakota too, by showing them a Star Wars video on his iphone. It was really great to see everyone.

Since it's Thanksgiving, here are some of the things I am thankful for (in no particular order):
Paul. He really is my soulmate and my hero. After nearly seventeen years of marriage, I sometimes forget to let him know how much he means to me. He is a really amazing person. He's a great father and husband and I don't know what I would do without him.

My kids. They are exhausting, but they are the light of my life. I am so proud of them and what great people they are turning out to be. They never cease to amaze me. They are smart and creative and I know that they will do great things in life.

My parents, in-laws, sister, sisters and brothers in-laws and their kids. I love them all so much. I wish we could spend more time together, but am grateful for the time we do get to spend with them. My nieces and nephews are all amazing kids, too, and I am so proud of them.

My students. Yes, that's right, my students. Some of them can be incredibly frustrating... okay, most of them are incredibly frustrating a good portion of the time. However, I have come to realize how important teachers can be in the lives of students. Even those students who seem not to care and seem to do everything in their power to sabotage their own education, deserve a chance. I think I am learning as much from them as they are learning from me.

In these trying times, I am also thankful that we have a roof over our head, food on the table and jobs to go to (knock on wood).

And most importantly, we have each other.

Bed Head

2008-11-16T15:35:00.003-07:00

I'm not really sure what Hunter is doing in his sleep lately, but he has been waking up with some major bed-head. This is what he looked like this morning! Of course, when I told him I wanted to get a picture of his crazy hair, he had to go and get two light sabers to be in the picture with him!

The Princess and the Bowling Ball

2008-11-16T15:24:00.003-07:00

Our nephew Steve was in his first play on Friday. He is an 8th grader at Smith Jr. High and his beginning drama class did a great production. Each group selected their own childrens story and adapted it to the stage. Steve's group chose The Princess and the Bowling Ball which was a parody of The Princess and the Pea. They did a great job! We are so proud of him. Steve played the prince and he is a natural. I hope he remembers all of us when he becomes a movie star! (The costume was great, too! It was very authentic, except for the footware!) We love you, Steve.

Potty Talk

2008-11-13T19:57:00.002-07:00

Grandma Phipps took Dakota and Hunter for some quality time on Tuesday. She took them to the park for a picnic and duck feeding and back to her house to play. They had a great time. She told me about this conversation she had with Dakota... Dakota told her that he had had diarrhea. She asked him "where did that come from?". Dakota thought about it for a few seconds and told her "it came from my butt". This demonstrates the importance of thinking about the question you are going to ask before you actually ask it. :)

In other potty news, last night Hunter went pee on the potty. It's not the first time, he will sometimes go at Miss Elaine's (his sitter), but he usually refuses to go for us. We don't believe in forcing the issue, but it would be nice if we didn't have to by diapers and pull-ups anymore. He was super excited and yelled "I went pee on the potty!" then gave us all high fives.

Jasmine Korina Lanphear

2008-11-09T19:24:00.005-07:00

Today is our beautiful daughter's birthday. Jasmine Korina Lanphear was born November 9, 1993. She was born 5 weeks early as the result of a car accident. She weighed 5 lbs 15 oz. and was 19 inches long. She had lots of beautiful dark hair that looked like it might have a few curls. Both she and I were severely injured in the accident, but her injuries were far worse. The impact ruptured my uterus and the placenta abrupted, leaving her without oxygen for too long. The doctors did everything they could, but it was too late. Our precious little girl passed away on November 11, 1993. Jasmine was our first born. We miss her so much. Today she would be 15. It's hard to believe that many years have gone by. Every year on her birthday, I think I am doing okay, but it always hits me. I think of her everyday and what she would be doing. She would be in the 9th grade this year. What would she look like? What would she enjoy doing? I grieve for my daughter and all that we should have, but don't. Hunter is still too young to understand, but Dakota speaks of Jasmine often. We have told him about her. Sometimes, especially at night, he will cry and tell me that he misses Jasmine and wishes that she didn't have to die. I wish she didn't have to die, too.

Lost Tooth!

2008-11-09T18:44:00.002-07:00

Friday November 7 was the day Dakota finally lost his first tooth! He lost it during lunch at school. He bit into an apple and it came out. He said he forgot his tooth was loose and it just fell out. It didn't even hurt! He was able to save it in a Ziploc bag and didn't loose it before school got out. Which is good, he has a tendency to take things out of his back pack to show his friends and lose them! He got two dollars from the tooth fairy. A bit less than the ten dollars he was originally expecting, but he was still thrilled.

Election Day

2008-11-09T18:19:00.003-07:00

Dakota was very excited about election day. In fact, he was looking forward to it for weeks! He asked us who we were voting for. When we told him we would be voting for Obama, he of course decided that he was an Obama supporter, too. He was always listening to the news and taking in as much election information as a first grader can. They even had an election in his class. He said that 16 kids voted for Obama and 9 for McCain.

When we got up Wednesday morning and we told Dakota that Obama won, he was so excited! We were excited, too. Not only because he is the candidate that we supported, but because of how far this country has come. It is not that long ago that people who did not have white skin had to drink from separate drinking fountains, ride on the back of the bus and attend separate schools and now we will have a president who is black.

I was extremely disappointed when I got to school Wednesday morning and heard what my high school students had to say. Many students made remarks about Obama being shot, saying he is Arab, not a US citizen, I even heard a comment about Kool-Aid! It is really disheartening to witness such a momentous event, only to hear those hateful comments. Anyone who thinks racism isn't alive and well is mistaken. We have always tried to make sure that our kids understand that it doesn't matter where a person is from, what color their skin is or what language they speak. Unfortunately, it is only a matter of time before our kids are exposed to these hateful beliefs. I only hope that our influence will continue to be strongest.

Halloween '08

2008-11-09T17:52:00.004-07:00

We had a great Halloween this year for a couple of reasons. The first being that I actually got to participate this year. Last year I was super sick with a very severe case of strep throat, so severe that I had to be hospitalized the next day! I couldn't even get out of bed Halloween night, so I missed out on all of the festivities. It takes a lot to keep me from celebrating with my goblins!

This year began with a field trip to Schnepf Farms for Dakota. I was able to chaperone and it was a very special day for the two of us. He was so excited when I went to his classroom, he ran up and gave me a hug. He wanted to tell me about EVERYTHING in the classroom. I got to ride the bus and he was even excited to sit with me. The kids had a blast even though pretty much all they did was go on the rides. Dakota was so exhausted, he fell asleep on the way back... and the school bus is a pretty bumpy ride!

After school we carved Jack O' Lanterns and put out Halloween decorations. Paul tries to bring home some of his "toys" from school to use for the extra effects. This year we had a fog machine, a strobe light, black lights and spooky sounds effects. It turned out pretty cool, except the strobe light made me kind of sick to my stomach! The boys dressed up as (you guessed it) Star Wars characters. Hunter was Darth Vader and Dakota was a Clone Trooper. Of course, both costumes involved some extra gear, a light saber, and a gun, which Paul and I ended up carrying. Grandma Phipps came over to hand out candy so both Paul and I were able to go out trick or treating.

The boys made out pretty good, they filled up their buckets despite the fact that there were several vacant (i.e. forclosed) homes in our neighborhood and they only made it up two streets before they decided they couldn't walk anymore. One of the neighbors up the street from us set out a bunch of stuff for a garage sale, figuring they would capitalize on the foot traffic, but didn't hand out candy! When the kids went up to them they said "Sorry, we handed out candy at the HOA picnic last week." How lame is that? I hope they got a trick!

The Intoxicating Aroma of Dog Kibble?

2008-10-28T20:41:00.002-07:00

We have a fairly regular ritual in our house that has been going on for years. Every night Paul takes the boys out to feed the dogs. Each of them get s a cup of dog food and carries it from the garage to the back door. Lately, Hunter has decided that dog kibble smells really, really good. I was sitting on the couch the other day. On his way to the back door, he brought the cup of dog food and stood in front of me. He took a giant whiff and said "Mmmmmm, 'mell Mom, 'mell!" (he doesn't say the "s" in smell) I tried to politely decline, but was incredibly persistant. Reluctantly, I took a very small sniff. It smells just the way I remembered and it definitely didn't smell good! Dakota used to like to smell my scented candles... Hunter likes to smell dog kibble!

Star of the Week: Day 2

2008-10-28T20:21:00.004-07:00

On the 2nd day as Star of the Week, Dakota got to choose a book to bring in and read to the rest of the class. He mentioned that he wanted to bring a Star Wars book (of course), but I pointed out to him that it would be difficult for him to read and if even if Mrs. Nelson read it, she probably would not be able to finish the book because it is so long. He chose I'm Taking a Trip on My Train. It's a great book with lots of good rhyming. I think we got it from a Scholastic book order when he was in pre-school. He had memorized a lot of it when we first started reading it, but now he is actually able to decode most of the words!

This is the email that we received from his teacher this afternoon: "Hi Lanphears,Dakota did a great job reading his special book the class today! Awesome!Mrs. Nelson"

Star of the Week!

2008-10-27T20:47:00.003-07:00

Okay, one last post tonight. (It's been a busy week... and it's only Monday!) Dakota was chosen as "Star of the Week" in his class. The teacher randomly chooses a name. Even though it is an honor based purely on chance, it is incredibly important to the kids. They bring home a folder and a special bag and have something special all about them each day. Today Dakota got to bring in items to share with the class, like a show and tell. He chose to bring in a light saber and Star Wars cards (do you see a theme here? it seems like our family revolves around Star Wars!).

Dinner

2008-10-27T20:32:00.006-07:00

I was trying to get a picture of Hunter refusing to eat his dinner for this post, but as soon as he saw me with the camera, he had to run over and get his Star Wars gun! Oh well... maybe someday I will be able to get some candid shots that don't have anything to do with Star Wars.

Hunter has become incredibly difficult and picky, especially around dinner time. He will hardly eat anything and then wants Daddy to "help him". Which basically means to feed him (how we regressed back to that is a whole other story, and Daddy, albeit, well meaning, instigated this new ritual).

Tonight we had my best attemp at Chipotle burritos. They turned out pretty good, but not nearly as good as Chipotle. Hunter, of course, made us scrape everything off of the tortilla so he could eat it plain. While I was doing the dishes, Paul was helping him eat some of the filling. When Paul tried to get him to eat the rice, Hunter said "OOOOOO, THAT WILL MAKE YOU SICK!" He has had rice before, and he did like it! And just for the record, it DID NOT make anybody sick! :)

Loose tooth!

2008-10-27T20:16:00.002-07:00

About 3 years ago, when he was about 3 1/2, Dakota saw an episode of Calliou in which a kid gets a loose tooth. He immediately started feeling around in his mouth for loose teeth. He would constantly tell me about his "loose tooth", which was never the same tooth and sometimes more than one tooth and there definitely was never a loose tooth. This went on for several months, constantly, until he finally found something else to think about. And even after he became preoccupied with other things, every so often he would still tell me he had a loose tooth. He has been waiting for a loose tooth for 3 years.

Yesterday, 10/26/08 was the day. Dakota FINALLY has a loose tooth. I came home from the grocery store to the announcement. Apparently, there were some issues and some tears, but by the time I got home it was just excitement. His first idea was that the tooth fairy will bring him $10. I told him that I thought that was a little high and he told me then she would bring him $8. I'm not sure exactly what a tooth goes for these days, but I don't think inflation has brought the rate up to $10... or even $8 for that matter!

It's the one on the bottom left (your left, not his), on the left side of the small gap. The tooth has always been a little bit crooked, so when I asked Paul which tooth, he told me the crooked one. Dakota then told me it was his "cavity tooth". He has never had a cavity (knock on wood) so I'm not sure why he gave it that name. If I were a dentist, or a dental assistant for that matter, I could give you a number for the tooth, but I'm not, so I can't. I'll keep you posted on the progress.

Report Card

2008-10-21T17:26:00.002-07:00

We are so proud of Dakota. We had his parent teacher conference and got his report card for the first quarter of first grade a couple of weeks ago. He got all 3's and 4's (Mesa uses the number system for grades, just like they did when I attended school in Mesa a FEW years ago in 5th-7th grade). He did get one "2", for demonstrates self-control, which was due to the fact that he needs to talk about everything. Mrs. Nelson mentioned that it seems to be that he gets so excited about nearly everything, he just needs to ask a question or make a comment and he forgets to raise his hand. His behavior (and by behavior, I mostly mean talking) has really improved this year. He has only been on "yellow" 2 or 3 times this whole year, and green the rest of the days! Academically, he is doing great. He is very smart, as if you didn't already know! He loves math and science... and pretty much all of the other subjects, too!
Dakota is such a great kid. I hear from people all of the time what a big impact he has on them. Mrs. Nelson mentioned that everyone looks forward to seeing Dakota, he talks to everyone and his enthusiasm about everything can be contagious. She loves how he gets so excited about classroom activities and always wants to actively participate. The cafeteria workers love seeing him, apparently he gets very excited about the choices at lunch, as well! Last year when he was in Kindergarten in AJ, the district where Paul and I work, I brought him to school and walked him to his class. He knew everyone we encountered: other kids his age, older kids, teachers, playground aides, all of them said "hi" to him. Towards the end of his kindergarten year, the district started advertising a summer science program for elementary aged kids. I had never met the teacher who was running it, in fact I think she was at one of the middle schools. When I emailed her with a question about whether it would be appropriate for "my son" (those were my words, I didn't use his name) because he was so young, she replied back "You don't know me, but I know Dakota!" At the beginning of this school year, the ELL (English Language Learner) teacher asked me, "Is Dakota your son?". I told her he was, and she said she knew him, too! When he was in baseball, the parents and coaches from the other teams were always rooting for Dakota. He is such a special kid, he really does put a smile on the face of everyone he meets!

Hunter is 3!

2008-10-12T18:02:00.004-07:00

Hunter's 2nd Birthday
Hunter's 1st Birthday. I think he actually ate an entire piece of cake! You can kinda tell by the look on his face!

From a beautiful baby...
To my handsome, little man.
Hunter's 3rd Birthday (thanks to Kevin and Amanda for the Darth Vader costume!)

We celebrated Hunter's 3rd birthday last Saturday. It was a blast. He had such a great time. As you can tell, he is obsessed with Star Wars, a gene which he inherited from his dad (Dakota got that gene as well). He is such a great kid, but he's growing up so fast! He was not just a big baby, but a HUGE baby. At 4 months he was over 20 lbs! At 18 months, he was almost the exact height and weight that Dakota was at 3 years! He is no longer that yummy, chubby little baby, but he is still quite tall for his age. There are so many things we love about Hunter.

He loves to jump, we can't go through a parking lot or the mall without him looking for something to jump over. I think it's a Tigger thing. Even though he is obsessed with Star Wars (he frequently tells me he is Anakin) he still loves Tigger and Winnie the Pooh.

He has a great sense of humor. He came up with this joke on his own. He says, "Knock, knock". We say, "Who's there?" He says, "Pumkinhead, ahahahahahaha!" He doesn't quite get the punchline, but he cracks us up nonetheless!

Although he does have his moments, he is generally happy and pretty well-behaved. We can take him pretty much anywhere and he seems to enjoy himself.

He still sleeps with his blankey and Snoopy, and when he starts to get tired he still asks for them. Snoopy is a stuffed animal that Daddy brought back from a school trip to California 2 years ago. Blankey (aka Bah) is a crocheted baby blanket that Paul's and Cindy actually made for Dakota. He has loved it since he was a baby!

When I drop him off at the Elaine's (his sitter), one of the other kids she watches calls me mommy. He always responds, and very forcefully I might add, "NO KENDA, that's not your mommy, that's MY mommy." That's my boy!

He loves his big brother and wants to do EVERYTHING that his brother does. He really thinks that he can do pretty much anything.

When he watches any kind of Star Wars show, he always has his light sabers and re-enacts the light saber seens along with the characters. If I'm sitting there with him, he will give me a light saber and watches to make sure that I am doing the right moves. When they start swinging the light sabers on t.v., he says "Shoot, Mom, shoot!"

Whenever I go somewhere, he ALWAYS wants to go with me. Even though I can't always take him, it makes me feel good that he wants to be with me. I'm sure he'll outgrow it be the time he's twelve.

Welcome

2008-09-29T20:53:00.000-07:00

I figured it was about time I posted a blog on our family life. That's right, five years after everyone else started blogging, I'm leaping right in. Hopefully, this will be a good way to keep in touch with our friends and family who we don't see as often as we would like.

I was inspired to begin blogging when I read an article in the newspaper about a young mother, Stephanie Nielson, who suffered horrific burns following a small plane crash in Northern Arizona in August. She started a blog to keep in touch with family, but touched many lives of people she had never met through her blog. She is currently in critical condition in the burn unit of the Maricopa Medical Center. She has burns over 80% of her body and has been through many surgeries.Her husband was also critically injured in the crash. They have four young children who are now living with relatives (read her story here http://blog.cjanerun.com/ ).

Through a blog about Stephanie, I learned of another young mother, Carol Decker, who suffered sepsis from a strep infection during her pregnancy. As a result of the infection and the treatments to keep her alive, she had both legs, her left arm and her right ring finger amputated. She has also lost her vision. The baby is doing well. (read her story here: http://sccsdecker.blogspot.com/2008/06/synopsis.html )

While I have never met either of these women, I found their stories to be so compelling. They are both strong women who love their children dearly. I found their stories to be such an inspiration! It reinforces how lucky I am to have the wonderful family that I have. I am so grateful that I am able to spend each day with my children and my husband.

Both of these women have huge medical bills at this point and their blogs have many ways that we can help support them financially. I encourage you to support them if possible. They have huge struggles ahead of them and the financial aspect of their treatment is the last thing they should have to worry about during their recoveries.

My Family

2008-09-24T20:30:00.001-07:00